Wellingborough man ‘buzzing’ ahead of epic charity road trip

The Rust Bucket Rally, which first started in 2014, sees petrolheads travel 2,500 miles across the continent in four days in cars bought for under £500 every June.

This year’s rally kicks off on June 7 with those taking part driving through England, France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium.

The 52 drivers, a record number and up from 38 last year, will take in four mountain passes, the Italian coast and the Eiffel Tower in their first city centre drive.

One of the organisers, Wellingborough-based airport driver Carl Baldry, said: “We are absolutely buzzing.

“Everyone keeps saying they saw a rust bucket and we just can’t wait to get going.”

Carl will be driving a Mercedes CLK wrapped in rust in this year’s road trip.

This is the fifth rally with the first starting with 20 cars.

Over the previous four rallies £120,000 has been raised for their chosen charities, with last year’s rally raising thousands to provide defibrillators for sports teams.

This year’s Rust Bucket Rally is raising money for Children Are Butterflies, a charity in Northampton for bereaved families which has been used by a couple of people taking part.

Carl said: “It’s a feeling that none of us want to go through.

“We all think we will outlive our children and most people do.

“But there are some that don’t and Children Are Butterflies really help them.”

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