THE force was certainly with Harry Simpson and his marathon bid to help charities.
When a chest infection stopped the police inspector's plans to complete 600 miles on a rowing machine by Red Nose weekend, colleagues pushed the boat out for him.
Fifty volunteers, from recruits to an assistant chief constable, set up rowing machines in the foyer of Cleveland Police headquarters, and rowed the 250,000m Inspector Simpson had left.
Assistant Chief Constable Bryan Bell rowed the last 5,000m.
Insp Simpson said: "It was a superb team effort. So many people came to the rescue and got us there on time. It was a magnificent effort.''
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