AFRICAN desert folk may think they are seeing a mirage when an ice-cream van from Hampshire zooms over the horizon in the next couple of weeks.

But it's definitely not an illusion. Two local men have set off on a risky 3,700-mile charity rally with the tune of Mr Whippy blaring out all the way.

Chris "Chip" Wilson, 36, and Neil Scudder, 36, from Hythe, are taking part in the Ultimate Banger Challenge from Plymouth to Dakar in West Africa - an event where competitors drive clapped-out vehicles costing no more than £100 all the way to Africa to raise cash for charity.

Complete with tubs of ice cream and a freezer donated by the New Forest Ice Cream company, the pair set off on their adventure from Portsmouth Harbour on Boxing Day night.

Since leaving the country, they have driven all the way from Le Havre, France, to Gibraltar where they caught the ferry to Tangier in north Africa.

New Year was spent within the exotic surroundings of Marrakech and Morocco and by now they have begun their 600-mile slog through the Western Sahara.

They hope to be in Dakar by January 20. Chris, of New Road, Hythe, who runs his own business, said: "I think it will be a bit surreal for people to see an ice cream van in the desert but we will stop and give out ice cream to people who've never tried it before.

"The whole event is for a good cause."

Chris and Neil are raising money for the Peter Legate Everest Charities Fund, a fund set up when Pete Legate, Chris's brother's best man, was tragically killed climbing Mount Everest in 2001.

Every penny will go to the charities he was supporting, Naomi House and Children Say.

Neil, a welder, of Waterman's Lane, Hythe, said: "We've been really looking forward to the trip. It will be good to spend time together for a worthy cause."

The pair are joined by a motley collection of other "bangers" in the challenge initially launched by Devon stockbroker, Julian Nowill, earlier this year.

Cars had to cost less than £100 and only £15 could be spent on preparation.

Fellow locals Mike Rogers, 56, and John Ward, 55, from Southampton, are going the distance in a clapped-out Renault 19.

Mike, a garage proprietor, of Southbrook Road, who is raising cash for the Falklands Veteran Foundation (FVF) and John, a chartered quantity surveyor, collecting for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, said they have been looking forward to it.

"With so many of us there should be quite a lot of camaraderie. It will be quite an adventure."