A CAR that most people would not trust to carry them across town took two men from Woodford Green on a eight and a half thousand mile journey to Mongolia.

Adam Ataar and Alex Collard bought their 22-year-old Suzuki SJ 410 for £300 from internet auction site eBay before they set out on their three-week odyssey across Europe and Asia.

The former Woodbridge High School students were taking part in the 2007 Mongol rally to raise money for two charities, Mercy Corps Mongolia and Homes for Children.

Adam said: "It was absolutely fine until western Kazakhstan but when we hit the dirt tracks there the car started to fall to bits and we had to repair it every day. The exhaust fell off it and on the last day we were limping at 15mph until we got to Ulaan Baatar."

Naming themselves Team Rhino', Adam and Alex were among 200 teams from ten different countries all of which had to travel in an old car with a engine capacity of one litre or less.

They set off in a blaze of glory from Hyde Park on July 21 and travelled with a car full of maps through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, the Czech republic, Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan before reaching Mongolia.

Adam said: "We got lost in the Gobi desert for a day and a half driving through the mountain tops where there were no cars or tracks, but we knew there was a road to the north of us and we kept driving until we found it. Then we ran out of water and had to purify water from the rivers to drink."

The pair have already raised £1,400 for the charities which work with orphaned children and deprived communities overseas and are looking forward to repeating their adventure.

Adam said: "I would love to do a different destination, maybe in a couple of years."

Despite having a top speed of just 55mph and some rather chronic mechanical problems, their car found a willing buyer at a Mongolian auction.

To sponsor Adam and Alex, or read more of their adventures, visit their website at www.rustyrhinos.com