THREE Doctor Who fanatics have completed an epic five-day trip from Blackwood to Munich in a 22-year-old car – exceeding their £1,000 target for charity.

Richard Shelton and Anthony Wood, both 39 and from Pontllanfraith, and 30-year-old Rhys Davies from Bridgend, have so far raised more than £1,500 in aid of Parkinson’s research after taking park in the Ramshackle Rally, in which they finished third overall.

Mr Shelton, dressed as David Tennant’s Dr Who when the trio set off from Libanus Primary School in their Tardis-inspired VW Golf last month, decided to take part as his father David, 76, has Parkinson’s.

“He would have loved to come himself but he is so pleased with what we did, and the local Parkinson’s group are as well,” Mr Shelton said.

“Initially we hoped for around a thousand pounds so we have done really well to get more than £1,500.

“It took us five days in total to get there. We went through the two highest passes in Europe – the Stelvio Pass in Italy which is around 9,500ft and was made famous by Top Gear, and the Grossglockner in Austria which was just shy of 9,000ft. The Ramshackle rules say the car has to be worth less than £3,000 – basically an old banger that’s on its last legsFor a 22-year-old car to do that is pretty good going.”

The Ramshackle Rally is not a first to the finish line race. Instead, participants are set a different challenge each day with points awarded to the most successful cars. Challenges included taking pictures of pink cars and buying as many objects as possible for one Euro, collecting matching beer bottle caps and mats.

The team of Doctor Who characters were awarded a very respectable third place out of 17 cars.Challenges included taking pictures of pink cars and buying as many objects as possible for one Euro, collecting matching beer bottle caps and mats, and “planking” – lying face down – with a scenic view of the Alps in the background

“We also had to get a livestock in the car,” Mr Shelton added. “We managed to get a chicken from a little farm in Austria. The speed of the rally is out of the question, it’s all about points.

“It was a long trip – the first day took us 560 miles from Calais to Annecy, just south of Geneva. Every night you’d have a meet point where they would check your points.

“We tried to go into convoys just in case you ended up breaking down. We had a tannoy on the car so we could talk to people and play some music to passers-by.

“People stared at you if you were on your own, thinking you were crazy. At least in a convoy, with Austin Powers in the car behind you, people would think ‘oh, something’s going on here’!”

For more information or to donate visit go to www.the3doctors.com