On a chilly evening in May, one of Reigate and Banstead's staff members, Pauline Clifford, conquered her fear and walked barefoot across 20 feet of red hot coals burning at 1,236 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pauline had been roped into doing this daring deed by her husband, Nigel Clifford, who is a Trustee for the Surrey Care Trust.

Fire fan

Pauline is known to be a bit of a fire fan; "I need no excuse to light a fire and am very happy cooking in my outside oven (weather permitting). I did wonder though, if this event would prove to be one 'step' too far" she said.

Scary

On the night, however, it all went off without accident or burnt feet. "The scariest bit was when we first saw the fire before they had raked it down," recalls Pauline. "Once it was prepared we had to line up and shout out our name and say we were ready – I think I kept shouting for the whole 20 feet!”

Afterwards all the participants were presented with a certificate which says on it ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to operate in spite of fear.’

Exhilarating

Pauline says she was really glad she took part: “I was definitely outside my comfort zone but it was exhilarating and empowering to do something like that – mind over matter came into it in a big way.”

Pauline raised an amazing £600 for the Surrey Care Trust.

Transforming lives

The Surrey Care Trust is an independent charity supporting people in transforming their life chances. They bring learning and life-changing opportunities to people of all ages helping them improve their skills, confidence and prospects for employment. Find out about future fund raising events see the Surrey Care Trust website.