Dean Bexon-Ingham, 60, and Brian Moore, 56, are driving a 2002 Fiat Punto to Gibraltar in aid of the Sailor, Soldier and Air Force Association (SSAFA) and Heroes On The Water.

The two ex-prison officers are travelling 1835 miles through the UK, France and Spain to raise money for the two charities.

Dean, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, said: ‘This is just the tonic that I need, a new challenge. Like a boys’ road trip.’

Brian Moore got involved after his wife died earlier this year.

Dean said: ‘He thought “you know what that is a good thing for me to focus my life on, a boys’ trip” so for both of us it has come at the right time to do something different.’

He added: ‘We have called our team “Screwloose” as we are both ex prison officers (screws) and to do this trip we must have a screw loose.’

Dean, a magistrate, also served in the Royal Navy from 1981-1990. ‘I was lucky enough that I didn’t see any real conflict. I went to the Falklands in 1982 but I didn’t get down there until the end.’

He served on three trips to the Falklands in total in the 1980s and also did a tour of duty in Northern Ireland.

The SSAFA and Heroes On The Water are charities that help ex-military and current serving military personnel through rehabilitation when they return from service.

As Dean has a personal interest in the military aspect of this trip, along the way ‘Team Screwloose’ will stop at some of the historic military sites in France, including the beaches at Dunkirk and Normandy and also Pegasus Bridge, which was the first objective to be taken by British forces on D-Day.

They are setting off on September 12 and are due to arrive in Gibraltar on September 17 to an official reception at HM Dockyard and are meeting up with the other drivers at Dover, Le Mans, Valencia, Malaga and the finally, Gibraltar.

Part of the conditions of the ‘Banger Rally’ is that each team cannot spend more than £500 on a vehicle and Dean went to a local business to get the job done.

‘I went to BCC dealership in Kirk Michael and they had this little Fiat Punto and I explained it was for charity. The price was initially £695 and the manager pulled it (the price) down and I managed to get it for £300.’

He is also no stranger to long excursions in aid of charity, as four years ago Dean drove from the Isle of Man to Latvia to deliver Christmas shoeboxes to children.

‘When I leave this world, I want to have made a difference.’

Dean and Brian’s main sponsor is Bushy’s Brewery in Port Erin, which is run by Martin Brunnschweiler.

The brewery has donated T-shirts which are to be raffled off along with football cards.

All proceeds from this raffle will go to the charities involved with Dean’s goal being £1,000 raised by the end of this journey.

You can donate to the pair’s charities through Dean’s JustGiving page, https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dean-bexon-ingham.