WALKERS covered the same distance as Northwich to Cairo when they took part in a two-week lunchtime challenge.

Teams of staff at Storengy, in King Street, aimed to walk 393 miles in the two weeks, the same distance as it is from Northwich to the company's head office in Paris.

The winning team, which included Franck Turmel-Josek, Ali Omranian, Rod Burgess and Nicky Hughes, walked the equivalent of 323 miles during the pedometer challenge.

The total number of miles walked by everyone who took part in the health initiative was 2,439 miles, which is the distance from Northwich to Cairo.

Walkers also raised £786 for the Northwich branch of the Samaritans.

Judi Boardman, who organised the initiative, said: "It definitely has inspired staff – not just to walk more, but to exercise more in general.

"There have been lots of positive comments since we launched the event at the beginning of May – not only has it boosted activity levels, it seems to have boosted morale as well.

"People who already exercise have been instrumental in getting the non-exercisers involved and people who are not used to or don’t like exercise embraced the concept.

"From an original two people who started doing the lunchtime walk, there are now two regular groups of lunchtime walkers totalling about 14 people – some or all of whom walk most days depending on workload, availability, etc.

"Many have also taken up out of work activities instead of or to compliment what they’re doing at work."