A Top Gear inspired fundraiser will see seven friends from Midsomer Norton and Radstock set off on a 750-mile drive around the South West in budget cars.

The South West Stint is raising money for the RNLI and the Will Cross Fund, in memory of seventeen-year-old Will Lashenko Cross.

Will, who went to Kingswood School in Bath, was a talented musician who passed away following a severe case of hydrocephalus.

He was days away from performing in the London finals of a national music competition and the Will Cross Fund is helping young people to fulfil their dreams in his memory.

Will’s cousins, Sam and Katie Lashenko, from Midsomer Norton, are taking part in the South West Stint from September 8th to September 12th.

They will be driving alongside old school friends, Tom George, George Bridges, Sophie McGarvey, Amelia Burgess and Joseph Wooltorton.

Mr Wooltorton, a photo technician at Bath College, will be driving a Hyundai Accent which he bought for £70 and has modified to make it roadworthy.

He said: “It needed a bit of work on it, but that was the whole idea. I called in a couple of favours and lots of people have donated things along the way.

“It’s a bright looking car. The idea was to make it look as stupid as possible to get more attention. We have the website and the hashtag on the car.

“We’re a close group of friends and we all love Cornwall, that’s one of the reasons we’re fundraising for the RNLI because we all love surfing.

“The Will Cross Fund is a charity that’s very close to our hearts and helps young people to achieve their ambitions and dreams.”

The team of drivers plan to stop at more than fifty places in five days, and will have to fix their own cars if they break down.

Their route starts in Cheddar and will take them all the way from Minehead, Newquay and Penzance to Plymouth, Torquay, Weymouth and Bournemouth.

They have raised £2,450 already and have attracted sponsorship from South West companies Honeystone, Xpedite, Daily Bread and Stellasoft.

Mr Wooltorton, from Radstock, said: “The support we’ve had from people has been overwhelming and we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us so far.

“We have been planning it for several months now. We’ve been doing photo shoots and we have the cars ready to go so we’re looking forward to it.

“There are barely any motorways - it’s all little B roads. We’re all having bets on whose car is going to break down first, but we hope to get through it.”

For more information and to donate, visit https://southweststint.com/