A team of intrepid mental health staff are taking on a gruelling mud run in Suffolk to raise money for the region’s children’s unit.

The group of 12 nurses, therapists, education staff and support workers from Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) will compete in Splat, Quack, Go in Woodbridge on June 16.

Sponsorship money will be put towards redesigning the outdoor space at the trust’s Dragonfly Unit, which was rated ‘outstanding’ during an inspection last year and provides short-term inpatient care to young people struggling with conditions such as depression, anxiety, psychosis and eating disorders.

The run includes boggy streams, testing natural terrain and obstacles over 6km or 12km.

Laura Morgan, an assistant practitioner on the unit in Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, said: “We have been thinking about doing a team event for a while, so when I saw the Splat, Quack, Go race advertised I thought it would be a great experience for us not only to do some team bonding but also to raise some money for the unit.”

The Dragonfly Unit will be increasing its bed numbers from seven to 12 by 2019 thanks to an £480,000 investment from NHS England.

The centre first opened its doors in September 2016 and has so far treated around 40 boys and girls aged 12 to 18, as well as supporting their families and carers.

Donations can be made online.