OXFORD United’s assistant manager is preparing to hop aboard the Mystery Machine with Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby Doo.

U’s number two Derek Fazackerley will don his best neckerchief and white jumper combo as he steps into the character of Fred Jones.

United fans fearing the coach has decided to move into a new mystery-solving career can breathe a sigh of relief, however, as the new identities are all part of Twin Town 2018.

Oxford Mail:

Launching on Friday (25), 100 movie-themed cars will leave Blenheim Palace for the French coast for the epic bi-annual fundraiser for disability charity SpecialEffect.

Each of the cars, which have to be worth less than £500 to enter the challenge, have been worked up to reflect icons of the silver screen.

Teams will make their journey through the Eurotunnel to Witney's twin town of Le Touquet, taking on an array of weird and wonderful challenges along the way.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Fazackerley, who will join the team of Oxford United sponsor Polythene UK, is hoping their Scooby Doo-themed Honda – rebranded the Polythene Machine – will last the whole journey.

He said: “It’s a great cause and one we are proud to support as a club.

“I’m just hoping the car makes it because I’m not going to be the best mechanic - but it’s a unique way of supporting SpecialEffect and I’m looking forward to the trip now.”

Oxford Mail:

Mr Fazackerley will be joined by a trusty gang of mystery solving ‘teens’. Chief executive of Polythene UK James Woollard will play green-shirted slacker Shaggy while general manager Jacqui Thomas will play the bespectacled Velma. Kelly Jones will join the team as the glamorous Daphne.

The famous talking dog, Scooby Doo himself, will take an inflatable form as he joins the group.

Ms Thomas spoke to the Oxford Mail about the struggle to pick a theme – and their hopes for this year’s Twin Town event.

She said: “There were just so many good designs when the team entered in 2016 so we were trying to think of some unique way to customise the car this year.

“Our main objective for this year’s event is to get there and back in one piece. It’s supposed to take four hours to get from Blenheim to Le Touquet but last year our team showed up 12 hours later in our fourth car.”

The team’s cars kept breaking and were ditched by the side of the road while new ones were purchased to carry on with the mission.

They hope the Mystery Machine will stay strong and carry the team for the whole journey.

The grounds of Blenheim Palace are expected to be packed with vehicles based on silver screen classics on Friday (25).

Teams are expected to arrive in France at around 1pm. Then it's on to Le Touquet where teams will be greeted by the mayor.

Over the course of the weekend, all the teams involved will compete in madcap challenges ranging from carpool karaoke to car jousting.

Organisers hope that this year’s event will raise £500,000 for SpecialEffect, a Charlbury-based which adapts video games for children living with disabilities.

To find out more about the event go to twintown.org.uk.