FROM a Colchester supermarket to Helsinki, weird and wonderful vehicles are set to travel across Europe to raise money for charity.

The Dumball Rally, which aims to raise £40,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, starts its 2,000-mile journey from the car park of Tesco, on Greenstead Road, on May 15.

A convoy of 36 decorated cars carrying 102 competitors will get the ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark before travelling across Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Russia.

The rally takes a different route every year and organisers have chosen Colchester as a rendezvous point before competitors board the ferry.

Organiser Rick Murray said the rally was in its fourth year and had previously finished in Istanbul, Athens and Corfu.

He added: “We aim to go as far across Europe in a week as possible, have a lot of fun on the way and raise money for charity.

“We’ve got all sorts taking part, from cars made up to look like a golf green, a sheep and the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo – it’s amazing what people come up with once you set them off.”

Rick organises the event with a group of friends.

He said: “It all started when we drove to Paris for a night out and came back the next day – it took the same amount of time as driving to Manchester.

“We thought it would make a good charity event and it just snowballed from there – we book accommodation, set challenges on the way and have an awards night at the end.”

The event raised £29,000 for Warchild last year, and supported the Teenage Cancer Trust the year before.

For more information, visit www.dumball.org