AN ADVENTURER sets off on a ramshackle rally tonight to raise money for a cancer charity set up by his late father.

Father-of-one Steve Livett, 48, from Kennington, is taking part in the three-day European Crumball Rally in the hope of raising thousands of pounds for the Friends of Kennington Cancer Fund.

The charity was started by Mr Livett’s mother, Pearl, and her husband Douglas after he was diagnosed with cancer in 1988.

The couple started by donating small amounts of money raised at wine and cheese evenings to the children’s leukaemia ward at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

But when they heard about a new oncology department being built at the Churchill Hospital, they decided to refocus their efforts.

Over the best part of 20 years, the fund has raised £250,000 for the unit, which is now based at the Oxford Cancer Centre.

Mr Livett died in 1991, but his son is keeping his efforts going by taking on the rally challenge. The only entry stipulation for the Crumball Rally is that cars must cost less than £200.

Mr Livett will be entering with pals from Kennington’s Tandem Pub, John Roderick and Colin Rhymes, both 48, and Karim Easterbrook, 59.

The four men will take it in turns to drive the five-litre 1983 Mercedes V8, which cost them just £150. Their first stop after leaving Oxford is Boulogne – the start of the event.

The 1,500km rally then travels to Auxerre and Macon, in France, through Luxembourg, before finishing in Bruges, Belgium. Forty cars are taking part.

Mr Livett said the men hatched the idea over a pint.

He added: “We were all sat in the pub one evening and decided we wanted to do something more worthwhile than just drinking in the pub every weekend.

“So we found a car for about £150 which should have been scrapped really.

“But we have managed to bring it back to life with a bit of serious welding and elbow grease, and we came up with the idea of offering panels to advertisers.

“So far we have raised more than £3,000 but we are still taking donations should anyone want to give any money to the cause.”

To support the fund, email kenningtoncancerfund@goog- lemail.com