Hunstanton Round Table raising money with a charity drive for young carers
LYNN NEWS CARERS’ APPEAL: Coast to coast car rally raises £2,000
BREAKDOWNS did not stop members of the Hunstanton Round Table completing a 1,000-mile car rally in fancy dress for the Lynn News Appeal.
The coast to coast challenge started on Thursday morning from the Golden Lion Hotel and raised £2,000 for the young carers’ campaign.
It featured five vehicles, which were bought for £400 or less. They arrived back at The Green, in Hunstanton, just after 5.30pm on Sunday.
The vehicles were done up in the style of Starsky and Hutch, the A-Team van, a Cannonball Run car from the 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, a Ghostbusters Ecto-1 and an American taxi.
All 18 people who took part, mostly Hunstanton Roundtable members, were in relevant fancy dress for the charity fundraiser.
Neil Wells, 39, from Heacham, dressed up as Hutch and said the rally was a “blast”.
He told the Lynn News many people thought the round table member, Michael Jackson, who dressed up as Starsky was a dead ringer of Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle.
Mr Wells, who is the group’s community services officer, added: “Lots of people took pictures of us on the road. A lot of people gave us money at the service stations.”
On the first day when the rally was just 45 minutes away from Bournemouth, their first stop, there were fears the attempt would have to be abandoned.
“The Ghostbusters van lost all of its gearbox oil and we had to pull over at a petrol station.
“An AA lorry drove past and although none of us were members, because we were doing a charity run, the van was put on the back of the lorry and taken to Halfords, where we bought everything we needed to fix the vehicle. The AA bloke was brilliant,” said Mr Wells.
The taxi also had problems with its gear stick and electrics.
Mr Wells said: “The taxi really struggled and held us up. It was definitely the slowest car.”
After Bournemouth the rally stopped overnight in Blackpool and Whitley Bay, near Newcastle.
The vehicles travelled mainly on A roads and motorways, as well as dozens of towns.
Mr Wells told the Lynn News the drivers were greeted by 150 people in Hunstanton on their return.
“We were very tired when we got back. We are very pleased with the amount we raised,” he added.
