Pole trek goes on as race suspended

Prince Harry's race to the South Pole may have been suspended for safety reasons but the group is more determined than ever to make it to the end together.

Harry had started off on the gruelling charity trek with a team of injured British servicemen and women against groups from the US and the Commonwealth in an expedition organised by the charity Walking With The Wounded.

Ed Parker, the expedition director, said on Saturday he had taken the decision to suspend the race to the Pole, but is determined that everyone will make it to the South Pole as one group.

On the charity's website, he said: "We have had a tricky couple of days. The weather remains good but the terrain is very difficult, far harder than we were anticipating and because of various factors, I have decided to suspend the race.

"The reasons for this are entirely safety based. I am looking at the three teams. They are going really well but people are beginning to get very, very tired.

"With our doctor here, who I am in constant contact with, we just feel we are beginning to push people a little too hard, so I have suspended the race."

The charity's website said this is "certainly not the end" for the challenge, but added that steps have been put into place to ensure that all of those involved are kept safe.

The team members are determined to prove their strength and courage but this must be done without jeopardising anyone's well-being, the charity said.

The final leg of the challenge will begin on Sunday from the team's second allotted checkpoint, 112km from the South Pole.

The team will be driven to this point and, over the course of the next seven days, will move as one whole allied team to reach the South Pole together.

A post on the charity's website said that on day five of the challenge, as the teams arrived at their first checkpoint, it "became obvious that underneath the concrete determination of all the team members, the harsh reality of the Antarctic was starting to take its toll".