To shouts, cheers and the pumping beat of Firestarter by The Prodigy, 13 fearless guinea pigs walked on fire for a range of good causes.

The garden of the Generous Pioneer pub in Burley-in-Wharfedale was the unlikely setting for the stunt.

As the group of volunteers completed their six paces across red hot embers, they punched the air in delight, cheered on by their nearest and dearest.

Earlier, the group, which included men and women aged from their late teens to 50s, had gone through a two-hour coaching session with Cliff Mann, the charismatic trainer from the firewalking organisation Blaze.

After a series of motivational exercises, they were back out in the garden, shoes and socks off, eager to complete the stunt.

The glowing embers of wood, which had been lit hours earlier, were estimated at 1,200 degrees - the temperature of a hot barbecue.

"Stand still, and you will melt," explained Bruce Bettridge, of Nottingham-based Blaze, which combines charity work with providing motivational management courses.

"We teach people to stride with purpose, to move quickly across the area."

Afterwards, those who had completed the walk-on-fire stunt were elated.

Anne Leslie, former Ilkley Parish Council chairman, who lives in Burley, had raised £150 in sponsorship for her chosen charity, research into Motor Neurone Disease.

"I'm part of the charity's Yorkshire Dales committee and we need to raise £20,000 a year to support a PhD researcher," she said. "I felt so good after doing it. With the training you get beforehand, you are so psyched up."

Lee Davison, 26, the supervisor of the play area at the Generous Pioneer pub, also took part.

"It was fantastic," she said. "I was very nervous. It was only at the last minute I was sure I was going to do it. It's a great adrenaline rush."