A WALKING challenge designed to get staff across the region more active has proved a real success at the University Hospital of North Tees.

A total of 17 teams from the Stockton hospital took up the Local Motion challenge with the winners – Surgical WCs – clocking up an impressive 1,172,577 steps between the four members over their four week period.

The challenge aims to reduce the number of cars on the road and introduce more physical activity into people’s everyday lives, and it ran at the hospital between October and December last year.

The winning team decided to take part in the challenge as a way to work out the amount of walking they usually did during their 12-and-a-half hour shifts at the hospital.

Team member Linda Martin said: “I got a bit obsessed during the challenge, had to keep checking the pedometer. I definitely walked more during the challenge, especially at home too.”

In close second place came the Pharmacy Steppers who, by the final week, were averaging 13,362 steps per member per day, more than 3,000 more than the recommended 10,000 steps per day.

The Local Motion travel advisors have been visiting hospitals, work places, job centres and homes throughout the Tees Valley, offering journey information to residents and workers.

They are currently working in the Darlington area and there is now a similar step challenge running at Darlington Memorial Hospital, where a total of 77 teams have already signed up.