Car buff off on charity crusade

A Northern Ireland car buff is leading a fleet of vehicles on a mammoth fundraising journey in aid of Comic Relief.

Mike Barr from County Antrim is joining the BBC Radio One Breakfast Show team on a Red Nose Rally, driving from John O'Groats in Scotland to Lands End in England.

Mike Barr is revving up his engine ahead of the road trip

Barr, 25, who runs what he believes is the UK's first internet star car hire company, got involved after DJ Chris Moyles stumbled across his website at the end of last year.

Moyles and team were fascinated by the array of famous vehicles which the Larne man has for hire.

They include Starsky and Hutch's Gran Torino, The Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee, KITT from Knightrider, Back to the Future DeLoreans and The A-Team van.

Also for hire is the Pink Cadillac driven by Clint Eastwood in the movie of the same name, the 1979 T-Top Trans AM made famous in Burt Reynold's Smokey and the Bandit and the Ford Mustang used in the Steve McQueen classic Bullit.

Barr said he was more than happy to get involved in the rally.

"It sounded like great fun and is in aid of a great cause," he said.

"I'm a huge fan of the Chris Moyles show so it was really quite an honour for my company to be asked to be the nuts and bolts of the project.

DJ Chris Moyles is behind the Red Nose Rally

"I set up Starcarhire.co.uk, more or less, as a hobby in March 2004 but since then it has really taken off and has developed into a full-time business.

"I really couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate our first official anniversary than this."

Members of Moyle's team have already picked out which vehicle they want to drive during the week-long road trip which gets under way on Friday 4 March.

During the trip, the Breakfast Show will be also broadcast live from a different location each day.

As well as competitions, the team will be raising money in all kinds of ways and have offered to quite literally, do anything for cash.

They have even promised that, if the price is right they will turn up at your school disco, open your new shop, or even come and serve in your canteen.

Moyles said: "It's going to be very exciting traversing the country and hopefully raising tons and tons of cash for Comic Relief.

"The fact that we've offered to do anything for money is going to throw up some interesting and potentially embarrassing situations."

The epic trip will finish in London on Friday 11 March in time for the traditional Red Nose Night.

For more details and a fundraising pack, contact www.bbc.co.uk/radio1.