Ref. 76106-55A PAIR of intrepid explorers are setting off into the unknown to support the Swindon Cancer Appeal.

By now Stuart Hepburn, 43, and Michael Berry, 45, should be on their way to Plymouth to take part in the Plymouth to Dakar Challenge a 4,500-mile race taking them through some of the most inhospitable parts of the world, including the Western Sahara, Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania.

The aim is to get their vehicle all the way from Plymouth to Dakar in the shortest possible time.

Stuart, from Blunsdon, said: "This is a whole year's preparation now all coming together.

"We couldn't have done this without my employer Smith's Interconnectors and local firms like George White and Cotswold Outdoor."

The race has some perverse rules. The pair were only allowed to spend a maximum of £100 on the vehicle.

So the team had to hunt across Europe for the ideal car, tracking down a 1983-Volvo 245 in Sweden for £70 and cannibalised a second car for parts.

"We have every confidence in the car. It's just the both of us we are worrying about now," said Stuart.

"When we get to Mauritania and Gambia, we are facing desert roads and even beach driving for about 100 miles."

They expect the trip to take them between 24 to 28 days. They are raising money for the Macmillan Swindon Cancer Appeal, as well as the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton and the Chalet School.

Once they reach their destinations, the cars that survive the trip will be auctioned for local charities before the participants fly home.

Since March 2003, the Swindon Cancer Appeal has raised £550,000.

The target is to raise £600,000 by 2006 to pay for two Macmillan nurses for the Great Western Hospital and a palliative care consultant to work at the hospital and the Prospect Hospice.

Anthony Osborne