A WARRINGTON team say they have had an ‘absolutely unbelievable’ experience after completing the Benidorm or Bust charity rally.

Neil Waters, who works for Great Bear Distribution, decided to take part in the rally across France and Spain with his work colleagues Mark Bolton from Padgate and Will Banks from the Wirral.

And the team, named Average Joes, took with them a replica head of their friend Duane Sales, who was forced to pull out before the rally due to family reasons.

“We took Duane’s face with us everywhere we went to show him that we were thinking of him,” said Latchford-based Neil.

“It was our first time in the rally and it has just been an absolutely unbelievable and really enjoyable experience.”

“The car we chose cost us £500 and would struggle to cover short distances when we bought it, never mind crossing the Pyrenees and into Spain.

“After a long slog though, the car made it and we have been able to raise over £1,800 for charity.”

The Benidorm or Bust rally is an organised, annual four-day road trip, with up to 140 teams driving from Dover, through France, over the Pyrenees and finishing in Benidorm.

Most teams complete the journey in fancy dress and take part to raise money and awareness for a charity of their choice.

Average Joes decided on supporting Dementia UK after asking their social media followers, and say the charity are ‘made up’ with their fundraising efforts.

“We received a lot of charity suggestions, but some of the team have had experience of Dementia through friends or family, so we chose them,” Neil continued.

“All of us enjoy travelling and go on a few holidays each year, but we wanted to do something completely different.

“None of us are ones for sitting on a beach all day and we like to do our bit to support charity, so this rally ticked both boxes.

“Considering how much we had raised for charity and the state the car was in at the start, we were desperate not to break down, so it was a really emotional moment arriving in Benidorm.”

Passing through beautiful cities including Orleans, Toulouse and Tarragona, Neil said the experience is something the team will never forget and cannot wait to take part again next year.

“Driving through the Pyrenees was like we were on the set of a Bond film, with the spectacular views and snow-capped mountains,” he added.

“We feel like one big family with all the other drivers - we swap stories when we get to the checkpoints and we have made friends for life during the trip.

“The cars get scrapped at the end which is really sad as you do grow an attachment to them.

“We have all said we will definitely be doing it again next year and hopefully we can get more people involved and do it in three separate cars.”