Officers from Greater Manchester Police helped to set a new Guinness World Record when they used their weight lifting skills to raise over £10,000 for charity.

The officers, who formed part  of a power lifting team of 12 from Stretford and Stockport,  set themselves a target of deadlifting more than 470,000kg or (470 tonnes) in a 12-hour period.

Eventually the team managed to lift 750 tonnes between them, beating the world record by over 300 tonnes.

The record-breaking lifts formed part of a nationwide charity initiative involving 56 gyms across the UK in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research Fund.

The mammoth effort by the Greater Manchester Police team not only created a new world record but also managed to raise over £10,000 for the Fund.

Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan, who helped to support the two-day world-record breaking challenge and is a cancer survivor himself, said: “Several members of the team taking part in the challenge have been personally affected by cancer within their families and as a result wanted to try and create something really special to raise as much money as possible for the cause.

“The world record attempt seemed an ideal way to try and achieve this.

“Thanks to the efforts of everyone in the team, we managed to not only beat the world record but also raise a tremendous amount of money for the Macmillan Fund.”

The fundraising efforts by the team will also be followed by further initiatives during the months to come.