Simon Boxall and Simon Dunsmore of Jemca Group will ride to seven European countries in seven days on their motorbikes to raise money for Ben, the UK's automotive and related industries charity.

Their planned route will take them through France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, through the French Riviera to Spain and then back to the UK.

They are asking colleagues to sponsor them £7 each and have had to increase their original target of £1,000 to £4,000 due to the immense amount of interest they have received.

“This is a fabulous idea and we are very grateful to Simon and Simon for giving up their time to raise money to help us reach out to industry colleagues who are in need,” explained Charles Davis, BEN's director of fundraising and communications.