THESE hardy young farmers hauled a tractor 16 miles along the streets of Essex to raise money for the county's air ambulance.
It took about 20 Essex Young Farmers almost seven hours to pull the two-and-a-half tonne vehicle all the way from Toppesfield Hall in Great Yeldham to Great Dunmow.
They went via Finchingfield, Great Bardfield and Great Easton and were kept going by friends dishing out food and drinks from a trailer being towed alongside.
Steven Mynott, 26, from Gosfield, is chairman of the Halstead Young Farmers Association.
He said: "Everyone was so knackered after, most people were still feeling the effect days after the tractor pull.
"We were kept going by the thought of getting to the pub, most of us stayed in there until closing."
Most of the group are young farmers, but some non-farmers were invited along to help out – and a short distance was completed by a 30-strong all-female group pulling the tractor.
More than £1,000 was raised, with 25 per cent going to the air ambulance and the rest to the Essex Young Farmers fund to build its new HQ at Chatham Green.
The event was organised by Halstead Young Farmers and Dunmow Young Farmers – headed by Sam Body, 21, from Braintree.
He said: "It was really hard, harder than we originally thought. The whole day went really well, there was no point where I thought we wouldn't do it, but some of the hills were really tough.
"My knees were quiet sore after and we didn't train for it, which was a bit silly. We do a lot of manual labour so we were used to it, but 16 miles is no mean feat."
Sponsoring the tractor pull was The Saracens Head pub in Dunmow, along with the National Farmers Union.
On May 19 they will gather again for the Essex Young Farmers Country Show at Boyton Hall, Roxwell.