MOTORING enthusiasts Mervyn Weaver and Martin Buxton battled freezing weather to cover nearly 1,000 miles in a charity rally at the weekend.

Mr Weaver, from Hanley Swan, and Mr Buxton, from Upton, drove their 20-year-old Mercedes G-Class through wind and snow to finish the Macmillan 4x4 Challenge.

Competitors met up at Clyro, near Hay-on-Wye, on Friday and drove across Wales through the evening, ending up at Fishguard.

Here they were unexpectedly ushered on to a ferry and spent the night crossing the Irish Sea to Rosslare.

Saturday saw them driving around the wilds of Ireland, before boarding a ferry back to Wales that same evening.

On Sunday, they tackled the mountain roads of Snowdonia, battling their way through snow up to 2ft deep in parts, before reaching the rally's finishing point at Warrington.

"We covered about 960 miles, not counting the ferry ride," said Mervyn, co-owner of the G-Class centre at Birtsmorton. "I think we got about six hours' sleep the whole weekend. We were knackered by the end."

The pair finished 27th in a field of 50 competitors - not bad for a first attempt. More importantly, they raised about £1,250 for Macmillan nurses.

The pair have definitely caught the rallying bug - in a fortnight's time they are taking part in another event in the Brecon area, before returning to Ireland later this year for a fundraising rally in aid of a Dublin children's hospital.