MONTHS of planning and preparation for one of the craziest fund-raising ventures the area has ever seen came to fruition when four beefy men climbed into a borrowed car.

The plan was simple - drive from the top of Norway to Gibralta through 14 countries in just seven days and raise cash for the Super Scan Appeal by challenging people to guess the mileage.

The four friends are all members of Burnley Round Table, and most of them are fanatical followers of the Clarets.

Alan Boys, Dave Hogarth, Dave Holden and Stuart Suggett set off yesterday (August 28) and are making the trip in a claret-coloured Nissan Terrano, loaned by Walker Farrimond and signwritten in blue to let people along the route know all about their car-azy adventure in the name of cash.

They have taken 14 Burnley FC flags to plant in each country along the way and intend to keep in touch with local well-wishers by sending regular bulletins about their progress with a computer link via the internet.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.