EPPING FOREST: Scouts and guides impress in 24-hour survival challenge (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

EPPING FOREST: Scouts and guides impress in 24-hour survival challenge

6:17pm Tuesday 9th March 2010

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MORE than 200 boys and girls had their survival skills pushed to the limit when they were left to fend for themselves in a forest for 24 hours as part of the Royal Forest Scout District Brass Monkey Challenge.

Troops from Ongar, Waltham Abbey, Epping, Fyfield, Theydon Garnon, Theydon Bois, North Weald and Chigwell Row all battled it out to be crowned the champions at the event, which is held every year at the Thirftwood Campsite in Brentwood.

Despite the occasion traditionally being a scout-only affair, this year saw the rare inclusion of a girl guide team from Fyfield – who promptly beat all the boys teams in the ages 10 to 13 category, with an explorers scout group from Epping winning the 13 to 16 section.

The two-day contest saw each troop faced with the tasks of building their own shelter for the night, cooking their own food and passing a series of tricky challenges such as gadget building and first aid tests.

Organiser and district scout leader Dennis Sweeting – who took part in the first Brass Monkey Challenge when he was a scout in 1983 – said: “This has been the largest and best event we've ever had. To have more than 200 take part is a record and they all did brilliantly.

“Some of the shelter designs were first class. One group made a shelter that was a bit like a wooden igloo, while the explorers from Epping made a very impressive structure entirely out of natural materials like wood and leaves they found in the woods.

“The girl guides impressed the judges mainly with their gadgets. They were out of this world. They made a wooden gate for their campsite, a drying board and all kinds of things.”

He added: “Everyone did their groups proud. Young people sometimes get a bit of a bad reputation but this showed there's so many good kids out there who work hard and are always friendly - despite a bit of rivalry between the groups."

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