A woman who has survived breast cancer has set out to motor round the world in 80 days.

Phillippa McLachlan, 48, of Wallingford, left London's Tower Bridge on Monday along with co-driver Christine Jones.

The pair, driving a rebuilt 1960 Rover 80, form the only all-female team out of 101 vintage and classic cars.

The journey is a milepost in more ways than one for the Australian-British woman. Her sister, Angie Gardiner of Kennington, explains: "Phillippa had breast cancer 18 months ago and it came back. She had a radical mastectomy at Christmas. Five months on, she's driving around the world.

"Any money they raise in Australia will be for breast cancer research. Cash raised here will go to the Oxford charity Flexicare, which has helped us enormously. It offers baby-sitting and transport to families with severely disabled children. "My son has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, behavioural problems and an academic age of five, though he's 15. We wouldn't have been out of the house in that time without Flexicare."

Charity fundraising aside, the two women face a journey that encompasses Istanbul, Beijing, Alaska, New Jersey and Marrakesh. Angie says: "It will take 13 days to cross China, sometimes on desert roads that candisappear in a windstorm. Most of the roads they travel on will not be Tarmac."

Phillippa met her co-driver in Indonesia and the pair have since learned car maintenance, welding and the basic language of every country they will cross.

Her sister says: "Two years ago she wouldn't have known where to put oil in a car." Phillippa admits to being a nomad by nature. She says: "I'll be following in the footsteps of my grandfather, who went to the Klondike gold rush in 1898."

She has no previous rallying experience, but has completed many long drives, including one in which she covered 1,200km in a day.

Angie has no doubts, only praise. She says: "Phillippa is larger than life. And she has guts to do this after having twice suffered breast cancer. I'm very proud of her."

*Contact 01865 739653 for information on Flexicare.