A NORTH-EAST businessman has been forced to abandon a charity drive across Africa after a catalogue of disasters.

John Lawler had hoped to raise money for a Tyneside-based charity to help people in the village of Shia, Ghana.

He has already become such a source of inspiration to his African friends that they made him their village chief in 1998.

This time, Mr Lawler hatched a plan to drive from Newcastle to Nairobi - a distance of 4,500 miles - in a Land Rover.

He was joined by fellow adventurers Jacqui Hopper, and Marcus and Zoe Hemsted, but little did they realise what the journey had in store for them.

Before Mr Lawler and his fellow travellers gave up, they:

* Narrowly missed a bomb attack in Casablanca;

* Had to cross minefields on the Morocco/Mauritania border;

* Just avoided being caught up in a military coup in Mauritania;

* Became separated in the African bush;

* Crashed one vehicle in the Mali desert;

* Sold most of their belongings to pay off the police after running out of money.

When Mr Lawler finally limped home, doctors told him he had contracted malaria.

The 28-year-old, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, set out from Newcastle in two Land Rovers in April.

The journey took the group, who were aiming to raise money for the Newcastle-based Mottey Africa Development (Mad) Foundation, across Europe and to North Africa, where they narrowly missed the Casablanca bomb attacks and encountered minefields.

After avoiding a military coup in Mauritania and crossing the border with their passports unstamped, Mr Lawler and Ms Hopper became separated from the other vehicle in the African bush.

They hit more trouble when a tyre burst on a pot-holed track, flipping the car over and rolling it down a bank.

Now safely back home, Mr Lawler said: "It took us five days to reach a hospital. A local policeman took us to a village clinic where Jacqui had to have surgery to sew part of her ear back on."

The Land Rover's engine was not badly damaged and Mr Lawler was helped by local mechanics to restore the bodywork, though it was left without a roof, windows and lights.

They had to sell most of their belongings to pay off local police, the clinic and the mechanics after running out of local currency.

The couple continued to Burkina Faso, where they received hospital treatment. Ms Hopper's x-ray results showed she had broken a rib and shortly after this she flew back to Tyneside.

Mr Lawler travelled alone to Ghana, where he got help from the village where he spent a gap year from his course at Newcastle University.

Five years ago, the villagers installed him as Chief Torgbul Mottey I, which stands for "chief pioneering pathfinder of the forest", after he helped to establish a school there.

He returned home two weeks ago - only to be hospitalised after malaria was diagnosed.

Mr Lawler, The Prince's Trust North East Business Person of the Year, is the founder and owner of Madventurer, a travel company that organises trips to development projects in Africa and Latin America.

Despite the problems, he says he still loves Africa and plans to return in the near future.