Organisers of Prince Harry's race to the South Pole have said their decision to suspend the event and turn it into a group challenge was the right choice.

The competitive element of the Walking With The Wounded expedition was stopped due to safety reasons over the weekend after some of the adventurers, who include injured servicemen and women, became very tired after encountering difficult terrain.

Harry had started off on the gruelling charity trek with a team of wounded UK troops, including Scots Sergeant Duncan Slater, competing against groups from the US and the Commonwealth in an expedition organised by the charity Walking With The Wounded.

But now the three teams have banded together and organisers hope everyone can reach their goal by the end of the week.

The adventurers returned to the ice yesterday and expedition manager Victoria Nicholson said the change from competition to joint effort had boosted morale.

She said: "The morale in camp is totally different. People have the energy to look after themselves in the evenings, now that all the teams are camping together.

"It's totally changed the atmosphere of the whole expedition. We have definitely made the right decision and we are delighted that we took the decision when we did."

She added: "People were pushing themselves just too hard. It was always a healthy sense of competition between the teams. The pressure on the expedition and the medical teams and the individuals themselves was just getting too strong."

In total, 12 injured service personnel who have overcome life-changing injuries are taking part. They have tackled challenging training programmes to prepare themselves for the conditions in Antarctica.

Trekking nine to 12 miles a day, the teams will have to endure temperatures as low as minus 45C and 50mph winds as they pull their 70kg sleds, towards the southernmost point on the globe.