A unit of riot police with helmets and shields joined a thousand runners at a historic park on Sunday.

The team of 11 officers, weighed down by riot gear, ran the Sport Relief Mile at Nonsuch Park and raised about £450 for charity.

Epsom and Ewell Neighbourhood Inspector Craig Knight, who brought the team together, said the kit weighs about 2.5 stone (16 kg).

Insp Knight said: "It’s a bit like carrying a small child and jogging for a mile.

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Photo: Morgan Knight

"If you can imagine running in walking boots, two or three layers of clothes and a rucksack on your back then the shock helmet and shield.

"It’s entertaining."

The officers started and finished the run as a unit with 10 public order officers in a line in front of Insp Knight who brought up the rear.

When asked how other runners reacted, he said: "It can be quite intimidating, I can imagine, looking back at 11 people in riot gear, especially when we overtook.

"Hopefully not too much, it was all in good sport."

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Oracle Group runners before the race

About a thousand runners were sponsored to run either one, three or six miles at Nonsuch Park, an Epsom Council spokesman said.

A team of runners from the Oracle Group, a PR and marketing company in Ewell, ran, walked and galloped for six miles and raised more than £1,000.

Caroline Coskry, group managing director, said: "I am so very proud of our team. We have been training for this since the beginning of the year when we decided to try to do something to shake off the post-Christmas bulge.

"It was a brilliant day and luckily the weather held out for us. It has definitely spurred us on to look at other running events - although we all need quite a bit of recovery time first!"

The Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile was part of a national effort to raise money in order to transform lives in the UK and some of the world’s poorest counties.

Sponsor the riot police team here.

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Oracle Group runners at the finish line 

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Photo: Nik Bartrum

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Photo: Nik Bartrum

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Photo: Nik Bartrum

Paralympian Sophia Warner  

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Photo: Nik Bartrum

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Photo: Nik Bartrum