'Hardest stag do in the world' raises £5,000 for NSPCC

With the usual stag weekend packages, the most lifting you'll do is that of a pint glass up to your mouth, the only crawling you'll have to endure is from one pub to another, and the only supplies you need to pack are some humorously-flavoured condoms and a roll of duct tape.

But one group of stags were unlucky enough this weekend to know groom-to-be and champion Thai boxer Michael Dicks, who eschewed the traditional stag weekend in Budapest or Bournemouth to tackle the Welsh mountain peaks.

And the big-hearted boxer and his pals worked together to raise thousands of pounds for charity through their ordeal, dubbed "the hardest stag do in the world".

Darlington-born Dicks and 19 of his friends competed in a 31-mile off-road mountain bike ride followed by an eight-mile kayak run, all topped off with a 24km hike in the Brecon Beacons, championing two peaks while carrying 20kg backpacks.

Unlike wearing a bra and knickers over your regular clothes and drawing on sleeping friends' faces, Mr Dicks' stag challenge is even used as part of the special forces selection process.

Stag weekend organisers came in the form of Mr Dicks' personal trainer Paul Hamilton, who put the challenge together as his stag's training regime meant the traditional stag night recipe of booze and kebabs were off the menu.

"A lot of the lads have various fights coming up so going out drinking wasn't an option," said Mr Hamilton. "It was better to do something different.

"To me a stag do isn't about getting drunk and being stupid. This asked some questions of yourself."

If you fancy a challenging UK stag weekend rather than a drunk and stupid one, Maximise have a range of stag weekend activities available for ruddy outdoors types.

The Brecon Beacons boast a range of challenges, from hoverboarding to gorge walking, mountain biking to paintballing - and, for the drunk and stupid among you, a nearby hotel nightclub.