Businesses back Scumrun pair to raise money for children's charity

The pair must use a car that cost less than £500 for the four-day journey, which will begin with a launch party on May 19.

Scumrun 2016, based in Tangmere, is Europe’s premier charity rally and the actual route is always a tightly-kept secret until the beginning of the event.

Chris, a car sales specialist at Harbour Cars in Chichester, said: “We are hoping to raise as much as we can for the children’s charity Action For A-T.

“Ataxia Telangiectasia is a very complex condition that affects a variety of different systems in the body, so research into A-T can also give insights into common conditions like cancer, compromised immune system, lung conditions and health generally.

“For many people living with a rare condition such as A-T, sustainable, high-quality medical research offers hope for the future – hope that there will be something that will change the difficulties they face in everyday life, hope that the prognosis may be improved and hope that increased interest in A-T will lead to greater understanding of not only this disease but others too.”

Chris and Kevin, Harbour Cars’ former preparation controller, have chosen a 1997 BMW 328i manual cabriolet, which has had graffiti put on it, thanks to urban artist Red-E.

“The car does get a lot of attention now,” said Chris.

“The car we have chosen means we can enjoy the views but we didn’t think about the lack of boot space.

“Other local businesses are helping too, including Griffin Designs donating the sponsor vinyls, Autotechnics Chichester helping with the car preparation and Highdown Car Audio donating some speakers for the car so we don’t have to listen to each other rambling all the time. Much bigger companies like Geologic Boreholes and Systems who have donated to the fund.

“We would like to draw attention to both the event and the generosity of the local companies who have helped and donated. If anyone has a European sat nav they would like to donate we would appreciate it – we’re not exactly homing pigeons!”

This is the second year that Chris, from Ferring, has taken part in Scumrun. This year’s vehicle already has 225,000 miles on the clock.

Visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/BreakingDown to make a donation.

Last year’s event was the tenth anniversary and a record £120,000 was raised.

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