VIDEO: Lytham firefighters to walk 11 miles in full kit for brave victims of Australian bush fires

The crew will walk one mile for each of the 11 firefighters who lost their lives battling some of the worst bush fires Australia has ever seen.

Watch manager David Curran said: “There was a lot of feeling within our station that we wanted to acknowledge the sacrifice these firefighters have given, not only to their job, but also their community.

"Everyone will have seen the horrific images on the news of the bush fires and we can only imagine the conditions the Australian firefighters are working in.”

The bush fires in Australia have been burning since September, with recent rainfall helping firefighters control the spread.

At least 29 people are believed to have died in the bush fires, with 20 of these being in New South Wales alone. Three people died in South Australia, and four died in Victoria.

A staggering 1b animals are believed to have been killed, including 50,000 koalas on the country's famous Kangaroo Island. As of last week, an estimates 24 million acres have been burned, and nearly 6,000 buildings - including 2,683 homes - have been destroyed.

Like the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, the Lytham fire station is crewed by on-call firefighters who respond to incidents by a pager from their work or home - no matter how dangerous.

The crew hopes to raise £11,000 from their walk, with all proceeds going to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

They will depart from Lytham fire station in full kit at 10am on Sunday, January 26, and head north to Bispham, stopping at Blackpool Promenade's piers and at the Blackpool Tower on the way.

Their online fundraiser can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bushfirewalk