Tough Mudder banned from London park after damage left it ‘looking like the Somme’

Labour MP David Lammy branded damage to Finsbury Park an ‘environmental disgrace’

The Tough Mudder is an obstacle course run across either 5, 10 or 15km (stock image) (GETTY IMAGES)

A council has banned Tough Mudder challenges from a north London park after the damage left behind by recent competitors was compared to the Somme after the First World War battle.

Finsbury Park was reduced to a mire over the weekend after those taking on the obstacle course churned the ground into a mud bath and disturbed nesting birds.

The damage done by the hundreds of people who took part in the race was described as an “environmental disgrace” by Labour MP David Lammy, who said he was “utterly appalled” after visiting the park on Sunday.