yorkshire evening post follow up

£50 banger's epic journey
Mini mad Patrick Ford who sped off on a 4000-mile African adventure was today back in Britain after completing the road trip of a lifetime.

Patrick Ford with his MiniGarage owner Patrick, 38, from Headingley, spent months preparing the F-reg Mini Cooper, which is emblazoned from bumper to bumper with the Union Jack, for the three-week journey to Banjul in the Gambia.Mr Ford and his friend David Kirkpatrick, 30, of London, took part in the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge 2007, also known as the Ultimate Banger Challenge, to raise funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.The route took the pair, whose team was named Italian Job 1 after the 1969 film, down the French coast and across Spain to Gibraltar, where they sailed to Morocco before driving across the Sahara desert.More than 200 vehicles, including Ford Escorts and Land Rovers, took part in the challenge but Mr Ford's was the only Mini to be attempting the journey – and both he and Mr Kirkpatrick were surprised that it lasted the distance.He said: "The Mini lost a wheel arch, a fog light and the number plate fell off but other than that, it didn't miss a beat. Everywhere we went, everyone loved it because it was painted in the Union Jack."We spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day in a hotel in Marrakech and we spent New Year's Day in the middle of a sandstorm in the Sahara desert."It really was the experience of a lifetime. We're so privileged in England because in Africa, people live in the middle of nowhere. You can drive hundreds of miles and see nothing but donkeys, goats, camels and vultures."Then you see these little camps of straw huts, where all the families live and it really brings it home."We gave the kids little presents, like sweets and teddies. If we gave them a football to play with, they were so happy - it was like all their birthdays and Christmas had come at once."Mr Ford, who owns Princess Garage off Otley Road, bought the Mini for £50 and converted it to left-hand drive so it could be auctioned off for charity when it reached the Gambia.He and Mr Kirkpatrick have already collected more than £600 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance but hope to raise a lot more. To sponsor the Italian Job 1 team, go to www.justgiving.com/italianjob2006.
15 January 2007