Emma's ready for a long trip (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Emma's ready for a long trip

A COTSWOLD woman is looking for help as she gears up to take part in a challenge involving more than 3,000 miles worth of driving.

Emma Kerby of Bourton-on-the-Hill has signed up to take on the Plymouth to Banjul challenge with her boyfriend Simon Clark, and they need a vehicle for the trip to the Gambian capital.

The race has few rules but the cars involved have to fall in with some specifications. The car must not be worth any more than £100 and only £15 can be spent on preparing it for the race. It must also be left-hand drive because right-hand drive cars are not welcome in Gambia.

Emma said: "We're just trying to track down a cheap vehicle that still goes fairly well, so if anyone has something like this just lying around I'd love to hear from them."

Emma will leave Plymouth on December 29 of this year and is taking part in the challenge for a number of charities. The money will be split between the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the Gambian charity Asset and the Gambian National Olympic Committee.

The trip is expected to take at least three weeks and the route takes in countries such as France, Spain, Morocco, Senegal ending up in the Banjul.

Emma, who along with Simon will be under the team name Pisto-N-Broke admits it will be a daunting challenge.

She said: "We had a meeting last week about the race and that is when it all hit home for the first time, that we will be in the desert and we are really on our own out there. There were also a number of people at the meeting who have completed the challenge before and they told a few stories that didn't help my nerves!

"But we've been looking to do something a bit crazy for a while and I've never done anything like this before, so to actually get the chance to take part is really amazing. I'm looking forward to the whole experience."

If anyone thinks they can help Emma and Simon call 01386 701235.