Classic car challenge raises over £5,000 for charity despite breakdown

Cambridge businessman Charles le Strange Meakin [from Hunstanton] and a team of fundraisers raised over £5,000 for Action for Children with a classic car challenge last week.

As long-term supporters of ‘Byte Night’, the charity’s annual fundraising sleep out which takes place every October at ten cities across the UK, Charles and co-driver Alex Gandini set out to drive ‘Edith’, a classic French 1930s Chenard Walcker Aigle 8, to each of the event venues, in under 40 hours.

With friends David and Sarah Eastwood in a support vehicle, the country-wide slog saw the driving duo steer the classic car non-stop over 1,100 miles, at an average speed of just 40mph.

Setting off from Cambridge Airport at 10pm on Friday 16 September, they called in to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol and Reading before finishing in London at 4.30am the following Monday.

“So we made it to all the 10 sleeper sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – in a time of 56 hours – sadly, however, Edith did not”, explained Charles.

The driving marathon took its toll on the 82-year-old classic which broke down on the final stretch at around 11pm on Sunday at the M4/M32 junction outside Bristol. Determined to finish the adventure, Charles and Alex joined the support Land Rover ‘Edna’ for the final two stop-offs in Reading and London.

“The problem started 35 miles short of Stranraer on the west coast of Scotland racing to make the ferry crossing to Belfast”, said Charles.

“I tried a short cut which lost us time and as result we had to push Edith hard to make the ferry, which our support team had gone ahead to hold.  However, hard driving didn’t suit the old girl and six miles short we lost power as the fuel pump gave out.”

The AA helped Edith get going again and the team caught the next Belfast ferry, four hours later than scheduled.

Charles continued: “We then made the Dublin to Holyhead ferry OK and, after Manchester and Birmingham, reached Cardiff around 3pm on Sunday. All was going well until 10 miles outside Bristol we were struck with another fuel pump failure, so we decided to tow Edith to the Bristol sleeper site and fix her there.”

Further help from the AA put them all on the road again but before long disaster struck and the fuel pump failed for good, putting ‘Edith’ out of commission completely.

“So all in all it was a hard challenge and we were all exhausted but we have raised over £5,000 so far and the coffers continue to grow. I’d like to thank the Byte Night board members in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast for meeting us, greeting us and cheering us on our way – and to the Reading and London teams who we stood up by being so late!

“We suffered a bit of hardship for a good cause but we shouldn’t forget the thousands of homeless young people who face far, far greater hardship for days, months and even years”, said Charles.

Senior special events fundraiser at Action for Children, Kylie Prankerd, said: “Yet another monumental effort by our dedicated fundraisers – a huge thank you to Charles, Alex, the Eastwoods and especially Edith.

“On Friday 7 October over 1,300 people will sleep out for one night to raise money for Action for Children so we can continue our vital work in ensuring children and young people across the UK have a safe and loving home.”

To donate to Charles’ challenge, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Charles-le-Strange-Meakin3 or text CLES87 £[amount] to 70070.

The UK’s largest annual sleep-out, Action for Children’s Byte Night takes places at 10 cities across the UK on Friday 7 October. Visit bytenight.org.uk for more information.