FOUR friends from Honiton are on their way to Croatia - in a hearse.

FOUR friends from Honiton are on their way to Croatia - in a hearse.

Grand Undertaking is the name of their entry in the Sucata Split, a non-competitive banger rally.

Electrician David Pidgeon, 37, electrician Fred Pope, 43, plumber Nick Charlton, 26, and technical sales advisor Mark Dyke, 26, left Honiton this morning (Wednesday) en-route to the rally's start line in Bruges.

They aim to travel 1,200 miles to Split in four days, in an old banger they paid less than �250 for.

But the biggest challenge could be to raise the necessary sponsorsip. The team has to collect �1,000 but, up until Wednesday last week, had only secured �10!

The team's members will have to fork out the difference, if they don't hit the target. Every penny raised will be donated to Gemin-i, a UK-based charity specialising in the development of innovative solutions to improve education in the developing and developed worlds.

"It is a just for fun event," said Mr Pidgeon. "We have to stick to speed limits and it is not a race. We chose a hearse because it's a bit different and we wanted the vehicle to do something fun for a change."

You can sponsor Grand Undertaking by visiting the Sucata Split website www.sucatasplit.com and click on '2010 teams'.