TWO students are preparing to drive across Europe in an old Rover 75 worth less than £600 as part of a challenge to raise cash for charity.

Alistair Blakemore, from Stokesley, and Shaheer Bhatti, from Yarm, both studying aeronautical engineering at Loughborough University decided to team up to take part in the Dash to Dubrovnik on June 20 to raise money for human rights charity, Amnesty International.

Mr Blakemore, 19, said they had to buy a car worth less than £600 and were pleased with their purchase.

He said: “We wanted something quite big so that we could sleep in it if we needed to.

“The tour takes us from Dover to Calais, and then through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and to Croatia.

“We will visit some lesser known areas too, such as Liechtenstein, and Neuschwanstein Castle, which inspired Walk Disney’s Magic Kingdom, in Bavaria.

“We are really excited about the trip – I think we can both navigate but there will be a convoy of vehicles we can follow. We will get a couple of days in Dubrovnik and then we plan to drive home.

"It is all for a fantastic charity that we are proud to support."

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/shaheer-bhatti, or www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alistair-Blakemore.