A small-scale mud run has been set up in the wake of the cancellation of East Devon’s popular Rocksolid Race.

Rocksolid Race Ltd announced last week it had ceased trading and has entered into voluntary liquidation.

The event has become a popular fixture at Escot, near Ottery St Mary.

After learning of the news, South West Military Fitness [SWMF] owner Peter Hardy has now stepped in to run a small-scale event after members of his weekly military fitness group were left disappointed they could no longer take part in the Rocksolid Race.

He said: “This event is not on the scale of Rocksolid, it is merely a token way of helping those who will miss out on the Rocksolid event that they were so looking forward to, giving them the opportunity to have a fun day with friends and challenge themselves.

“There will be a few obstacles, but nothing on the scale of Rocksolid. They [the Rocksolid organisers] did an incredible job and I think it was one of the best around.”

The mud run will take place on Saturday, March 25, with groups of up to 50 participants setting off every 15 minutes between 10am and noon on 5k or 10k courses. Organisers are charging a £10 fee to cover the costs of administration.

Mr Hardy, from Exmouth, said: “We are looking to do the event full-scale in 2018.”

Rocksolid Race Ltd last week issued a statement saying it had cancelled all future events after struggling during a ‘poor 2016 season’ and that it would be unable to refund bookings for events that have already been paid.

On Monday, ticket merchant Eventbrite announced it would dip into its pocket to refund some Rocksolid participants following the event’s cancellation.

Rocksolid Race Ltd’s liquidators, Robson Scott Associates, said on behalf of Eventbrite: “After reviewing the situation on our end, we feel that the attendees who registered and paid through Eventbrite for an event that has been cancelled deserve a full refund.

“As such, we have decided to dip into our own pocket to issue full refunds to all attendees of the cancelled 2017 Rocksolid races who paid through Eventbrite.”

The email address rocksolid@robsonscott.co.uk, which had been provided for customers to lodge claims with the company, may be used by creditors to lodge their claims and provide any information to assist the liquidator’s investigations.