TWO men who travelled 6,000 miles through Europe and across the baking sands of the Sahara desert in a Land Rover they bought on eBay have returned home triumphant to Woodford Green.

Despite run-ins with the Algerian Army, leaking oil and extreme temperatures, life-long friends Adam Ataar and Alex Collard, both 27, managed to survive the epic adventure in one piece after a year of preparations.

The journey saw the duo set-off from Broomhill Walk in Woodford Green last month, travelling through Europe and then on to the international Sahara Rally, which took them 3,000 miles through the deserts of Tunisia and Algeria, before driving all the way back again.

In the process, the pair, who are both former Woodbridge High School students, managed to raise over £1,000 for charity the Mercy Corps, which helps poverty-striken and disaster-hit communities across the globe.

An exhausted Mr Ataar told the Guardian he was delighted to have completed the trip.

He said: "It did go quite smoothly and it was great fun, but there were a couple of things which didn't go quite to plan.

"You're not allowed to drive at night in the desert in Algeria and one night we were caught by the military.

"Luckily they were very friendly and just told us to stop. They even offered us a place to stay for the night, so they let us camp in a military storage facility.

"It was surreal - we had armed guards patrolling up and down while we slept."

“And there were times when it was freezing cold at night and very hot during the day, and we did have a bit of car trouble.

“The vehicle started to overheat. But fortunately we went through this town where they had lots of Land Rovers themselves and they knew a few tips to help cool it down.”

During the trip the duo had plenty of time to take in their surroundings.

“The views were amazing,” said Mr Ataar.

“There was a stretch we had in Algeria where there no roads or villages for miles and all we had to survive was 120 litres of fuel and the supplies in our boot.”

The pair took part in the rally under the team name ‘Rusty Rhinos’ but it was no race to finish, despite a year of repair work on the 45-year-old vehicle which was bought on internet auction site eBay for £500.

“We did it more for the challenge and experience,” he added.

For more information on their adventure and to make a donate to Mercy Corps, visit saharan-rally.com