CHALLENGING times are ahead for North Somerset Councillor Peter Bryant and teammate Gary Twinn as they embark on a charity car trip to the Gambia

CHALLENGING times are ahead for North Somerset Councillor Peter Bryant and teammate Gary Twinn as they embark on a charity car trip to the Gambia.The two men will be taking part in the Plymouth-Banjul challenge, which will involve driving over 4,000 miles in a Ford Transit van to raise funds for CLIC Sargent.The Challenge started in 2003 as an ironic tribute to the Paris-Dakar challenge, but instead of highly expensive cars driven by world class rally drivers, with large back-up teams, this challenge consists of teams on strictly limited budgets, who, upon reaching their destination, auction their vehicles for the benefit of local charities.The transit van will be covered in the names of the trip sponsors, including Mead Realisations who donated the van, Demetris Bistro and The Sea Palace. The vehicle will join a convoy of 50 vehicles, travelling in groups of five for the 22-day trip.Local businessman Cam Mu has donated £1,500 towards the challenge, which will get under way on January 30. He said: "We are delighted to be involved in the challenge which is raising a lot of money for worthwhile causes and we wish Peter and Gary a safe and successful journey. We shall be happy to welcome them back for a homecoming celebration.