Henry hoping for rally clean sweep

From left to right, Chris Days and Tom Swire from SpotlessUK with their Henry the Hoover decorated car, which they are entering into the Crumball Rally

Tom Swire and Chris Days are entering the Crumball Rally where competitors drive old bangers around a course hoping to pick up points in daily tasks as the go along.

And the pair who run cleaning company Spotless UK in Lytham Road,South Shore, have decorated their car appropriately as Henry the vacuum cleaner.

Tom said taking part in a rally was something both of them had wanted to do for many years and they both wanted to do it for the Trinity Hospice charity.

Tom said: “My dad Peter used to take part in rallies, the family owned Moorland Motors and so it is in the blood.

“Dad died of cancer so I wanted to do something for Trinity where he was cared for. Chris is a big admirer of the work they do there too, so we set up a Just Giving website.

“We were looking at the Crumball rallies and decided to get involved.

“You have to buy a car for no more than £200 and the teams do them up, decorating them in all sorts of themes. So there will be cars based on the Ghostbusters and the car from Dumb and Dumber.

From left, Chris Days and Tom Swire from SpotlessUK with their Henry the Hoover decorated car, which they are entering into the Crumball Rally

“We chose a lovely little red Nissan Micra, which is actually in great condition.

“And being a cleaning company we have decorated him like the famous Henry the hoover.

“We contacted the people who make them, Numatic and they were great with us.

“They’ve helped us with the graphics and decals so he looks great.”

Tom said their 900 mile route would take them across Europe to the start at Koblenz in Germany.

It is a three day event starting on September 18, which conveniently ends during the Munich beer festival.

“It is a Great Escapetheme so we will be visiting some of the famous prison of war camps and war sites on the way.

“We go via Dresden Colditz Castle in Germany, Stalag Luft 3 which is in Poland, down to Prague and then back to Munich.

“Our little Micra will be up against old BMWs and Mercedes, so luckily it is not about winning the race, it’s more of an event, a bit of fun.”

He said they will be hoping to pick up points each day with a series of puzzles and tests given to each team at various locations on the route but the main thing was raising some money for Trinity Hospice.

The Crumball rally was started eight years ago as an alternative to the Gumball rallies inspired by the comedy movie of the same name.

Instead of flashy sports cars, the competitors must only spend £200 on their cars which are then customised for the various rallies organised in Europe each year.