Three Sidmouth fire fighters have successfully completed the gruelling Barcelona Ironman.

Three Sidmouth firefighters have successfully completed the gruelling Barcelona Ironman. The event covers three sporting disciplines; it begins with a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and rounded off with a full 26-mile marathon, all to be completed with a time of 15-and--a-half hours.

Shaun Bagwell, who lives in Exmouth where he is a serving fireman, was the first of the trio to finish, completing the event in a time of 11:21.

Shaun says: "We chose Barcelona for the event as it's fairly flat, the sea state is usually good, warm and buoyant and the weather more predictable. On the day conditions were near perfect."

Matt Meek, who is based in Exeter and also runs the Sidmouth Bike Studios, finished in a time of 12:25 and post event he said: "The day started brilliantly with the sunrise revealing a flat sea which helped set us all up for good times. What's more, we had fast cycles which also played a big part cycling on smooth, dry and gently undulating roads with around 3,300 feet of climbing over the whole course."

Jon Miller, well known in Sidmouth footballing circles, is also based at Exeter and he finished in a time of 13:33.

He said: "The run was the hardest part. You start to deplete of energy. And to test your mental resolve, the route goes past the finishing chute four times.

"You can see and hear others finishing whilst you still have miles and hours to go. But when you do finish, when you can enter the noise and drama of the chute, it makes the last few yards amazing, exhilarating."

Shaun [Bagwell] is now set to tackle the Majorca Half Ironman next June with his partner Jennie and both Shaun and Matt as they have already entered the full Ironman again, looking for even better times next October!

If you would like to support the fund raising effort, you can donate to Charlotte's Army, raising funds for brain tumour research and the Yarty Ward in Exeter, raising funds for cancer and leukaemia.

Donations can be made through the JustGiving page Shaun Baggy Bagwell. So far the total raised is £2,100.