A FORMER Malvern man is preparing for a 3,000-mile drive to Africa to raise money for charity.

Mike Montfort ran Just So in Barnards Green for more than 20 years before moving to Milford on Sea near Plymouth for his retirement.

Now he is taking part in a budget version of the Paris-Dakar rally, travelling from Plymouth to Dakar in a 1983 Volvo at the end of December. The Plymouth-Dakar Chall-enge seeks to raise as much money as possible for the Portsmouth Renal Unit.

Mr Montfort is hoping his former customers in Malvern will support him in his venture. He and a friend, hotel owner Jim Simpson, will drive down the west coast of France, through Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara and Senegal before arriving in The Gambia after 20 days on the road.

Once there, the Volvo and other cars in the rally will be auctioned off for Gambian charities before the drivers fly home.

"I can't wait," Mr Montfort said, "We are taking lots of things for the locals, there's nothing out there."

Anyone wishing to sponsor Mr Montfort can do so by visiting Just So in Barnards Green.