TWO Hampshire men are set to drive more than 10,000 miles for charity.

Ian Orchard and Chris Lappage, 47 and 46 from Southampton are set to undertake the Mongol Rally, which will take place over six weeks.

The pair will begin the challenge on July 22, starting off in Prague and ending the challenge in Ulan Ude in Russia.

As part of the challenge, they will be raising money for Cool Earth which is a charity that works alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction.

They will also be raising money for Scratch, a Southampton based charity who help relieve the effects of hardship, disadvantage and poverty for individuals and families.

The Nissan Micra they are set to drive cost them £280 and is bright pink with graffiti of characters from the Muppets.

Ian, who is a builder, said that himself and Chris have “never done anything like this before.”

He added: “We are going to have to drive through some extreme climates but hopefully we will meet lots of amazing people.”

The pair decided to take on the challenge after Chris who works for Network Rail heard one of his colleagues talking about how their nephew was undertaking the rally.

He said: “I looked into it further and thought wow I just have to do this.”

Neither Ian or Chris have undertaken a challenge like this before and Chris said: “We have really thrown ourselves in the deep end with this challenge but I have a feeling I’m going to catch the bug for it”

When asked how they think they will get on as a team Chris said: “Me and Ian are both mickey takers but we will pull each through and we are both mentally strong.”

Ian said they wanted to raise money for Scratch because it is “a charity that is unknown to a lot of people.”

250 teams from around the world will take part in the challenge and they are set to head off to Prague from Southampton on July 19.

To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/mongol-rally-fundraiser.