Six friends competed in a gruelling assault course to honour the memory of Gravesend mum-of-six Paula Carroll.

They have already raised more than £1,000 for the Northfleet hospice where 35-year-old Paula Carroll died of a brain tumour in July this year.

The team was captained by Paula’s brother, Rob Eastwood, when they competed against 35 others to come third overall in the first-ever KM Charity Team Assault Course Challenge on Saturday.

“Paula died just five weeks after finding out that she had a brain tumour,” said Rob, 31, of Gravesend. “It was a terrible shock to all of us; her oldest child was just 17. She was admitted to the EllenorLions Hospice in Northfleet two weeks before she passed away.”

While she was at the hospice in Coldharbour Road, Paula - whose previous name was O’Shea - fulfilled her dying wish to marry her fiance, Dave Carroll. The ceremony was held in front of friends and family, including her children Kayleigh, Bradley, Megan, Lily, Poppy, and Ben, who were then aged 17, 15, 14, 10, seven and three respectively.

Rob continued: “My friend, Adam Bailey, suggested that we do something in Paula’s honour to raise funds for the hospice. He was the one who found out about the KM Assault Course Challenge and booked us up for it.

“There has obviously been a lot of sadness, but on Saturday it was a really nice day and it was a good feeling to do something positive for the hospice in Paula’s name.”

Sponsorship raised for the EllenorLions Hospices already stands at more than £1,000 with another £600 still expected to come in. Rob’s colleagues and employers at Carluccio’s in Bluewater alone have donated £400.

By taking part in the KM Assault Course Challenge, Rob and his friends were among 35 adrenaline-charged teams from across Kent who powered through the course of 19 specially-designed obstacles to raise sponsorship for their favourite good cause.

Despite Rob’s modest team name of Not So Athletic, they got through their paces in an impressive five minutes and 20 seconds, which ranked them third overall.

A total of £12k was raised for 30 charities represented, including the children’s road safety work of the KM Charity Team. Sponsors of the event from the Kent business community included Fowlmead Country Park near Deal, where the event was held, London Fancy Box Company, and Jenkinson Estates.

To view more pictures of teams from across Kent, visit www.kmcharitychallenge.co.uk