KEEPING your eyes on the road may be good advice for drivers, but charity fundraisers were left with no choice when they took part in a blindfold driving challenge.

A team from BiB insurance and financial services group, in Darlington, took to the wheel at the Nissan factory test track at Sunderland, to raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

With their eyes covered, they had to negotiate a steering course through cones, then drive up to 80mph on the straights.

"It was very disorientating and, at first, I didn't feel as though I was going very fast at all," said BiB commercial broker Matt Hodgson.

"It didn't take long to build trust in the instructor's directions, and I was quite surprised when he told me that I had been doing 60mph.

"Sight is something we take for granted, and we can never appreciate how difficult it would be to do everyday tasks when it's taken away from you.

"Driving blindfold gave us a chance to experience what it would be like, albeit briefly."

One member of the team, Karin McKivitt, was at a double disadvantage because she was recovering from laser eye surgery, but was helped by instructors from BSM, who also supplied the cars.

The other drivers in the BiB team were Karen Everett, Andy Jones, Alistair Bell and Matt Hodgson.

BiB has chosen Guide Dogs for its annual appeal.

The driving day raised a further £500 towards paying for the training of a BiB-sponsored guide dog puppy and the appeal total now stands just a few hundred pounds short of its £5,000 target.