A TEAM from York are preparing to take part in a rally and drive from York to Russia, in a charity event.

Former Huntington School friends Mark Cundall, 32, Adrian Day, 33, and Matt Bedingham were travelling in Vietnam in 2013 and discussing their favourite topics - travel and cars, when the idea came about.

Matt said: "Adrian mentioned his desire to do the Mongol rally, an aspiration of his for several years. We went out that night and the drunker we got, the more of a good idea it sounded until we made the commitment there and then that we were going to do it.

"Fast forward over a year and we have now arranged the time off, are furiously working on getting our cheap and cheerful car rally ready and preparing the necessary equipment to hit the road. The rally itself is tongue in cheek, as are we as a group, but you are entirely unsupported and the dangers and risks themselves are on this kind of trip are very real."

After Turkey, the team will drive through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, before and finishing the rally in Ulan-Ude in Russia.

The team have paid for the car and their travel themselves, but hope to raise upwards of £1,500 for Cool Earth during the rally - a charity which helps the indigenous people of South America protect the rainforests.

Matt said: "The whole point is to do the journey in a low-powered car - something cheap and cheerful. It's not a race and we can take whatever route we choose. It's probably going to take us about four weeks. It's a bit like Wacky Races, really.

"We want to go on this journey to satisfy our own sense of adventure, but are passionate about the planet we love to travel. By travelling in a very small and economical car, we want to do it with the view of raising as much money as possible to help the environment."

To follow the team or donate, follow Mongol Rally 2015 - Yorkshire Special Branch on Facebook or go to justgiving.com/YSB