Brothers race to Lisbon in Big Bird 'old banger'

Two brothers have driven across Europe in an "old banger" decorated as Sesame Street's Big Bird to raise funds for a children's charity.

John and Mark Everett, from Leigh-on-Sea and Wickford, Essex, drove 2,000 miles (3,220km) from London to Lisbon with 40 other teams, completing daily challenges along the way.

The pair started their journey on 24 April, driving to the south of France, crossing into Spain through the Pyrenees and onwards into Portugal before finishing in Lisbon on 28 April.

They raised £2,000 for Gold Geese, which helps young people fight cancer in Southend and Basildon.

But John said the whole thing almost ended on day one due to mechanical issues with their Ford Ka.

"We were also challenged with the weather conditions and power outages shutting all petrol stations and card payments in Portugal, forcing us to all but push the car across the finish line in Lisbon," he said.

"We then had the worry of getting enough fuel to get us back across Portugal and to northern Spain to catch our returning ferry back to the UK."

However, John said they made friends for life during the trip and enjoyed driving across the Pyrenees, Spain and Portugal.

The brothers said they managed to double their initial fundraising target for Gold Geese.

Mark said: "One of my favourite moments was entertaining a coachload of French tourists with us creating a service station disco [and] them dancing around the car park to The Birdie Song on our car PA system."

He said, despite the issues, "being crowned best banger car and raising over £2,000 for Gold Geese has made it all worthwhile".

Katie Southgate, chief executive and founder of Gold Geese, says: "We're so grateful to them for their incredible fundraising efforts, and it would have been great to witness how many people Big Bird made smile as it made its way across Europe."

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