Two men are hoping that it's not bangers and smash this weekend when they race to Naples in a car destined for the scrap heap.
Les Hedaux, 53, and Claudio Valentini, 44, today stepped into their weathered Toyota Corolla 1.3 and began the gruelling Staples to Naples Banger Rally, desperate to win the £1,000 first prize for their charity, the Treetops School in Grays.
Les, who originated from Horndon on the Hill but now lives in Lincolnshire, and Claudio, of Romagne Close, Horndon, set off from Calais this morning on the first leg of the rally to Sachseln in Switzerland attempting to pass through as many countries as possible.
Les explains: "The rally is won by points and their are points available on each leg. On the first leg you have to drive through as many countries as possible.
"On the second leg you get points for the amount of mountain passes you go up and so on and the car with the most points in Naples wins the race."
Rally rules state that the car cannot be worth more than £100 and Les and Claudio had a struggle in getting their banger in a condition to race.
The money the pair win will go to the Treetops School, which looks after pupils with moderate learning difficulties.
Apart from the £1,000 handed to the car with the most points there will be prizes for the biggest pile of rubbish that makes it to the end and the most irritating team that is forced to hitch-hike.
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