A GROUP of friends will be travelling more than a thousand miles in a car disguised as a pirate ship in a bid to raise money for a local cancer campaign.

Three engineers and a primary school headteacher are set to embark on a four-day voyage that will see them cross nine different borders and drive more than a thousand miles dressed as pirates.

Pete Mills, headteacher of Captain Shaw’s Primary School in Bootle, masterminded the journey with the aim of raising £1,000 for the Fighting Fitz campaign in honour of close friend and St Pius X primary school teacher, Danielle Fitzsimons, who is receiving treatment for breast cancer.

Mr Mills said: “We entered the Wacky Rally so you have to buy a car for £300 or less, do whatever you want to it, and then race it all the way to Barcelona.

“It’s not about being the fastest – it’s about being the daftest.”

Mr Mills will be joined by three friends and BAE engineers, Gary Jewula, Matthew Sloan and Michael Jones, who have transformed an old bottle-green BMW 523 into a state-of-the-art pirate ship which will carry the Fighting Fitz campaign through the very heart of Europe.

Mr Jones said: “It all started as a bit of a joke, but the more we thought about it the more we thought we could do it for the charity and it just went from there.”

In true sailor fashion, it was all hands on deck as the crew enlisted the help of Captain Shaw’s pupils, who designed and decorated the boat themselves.

Mr Mills said: “It was an idea that has been floating around. I was heavily involved in the Fighting Fitz campaign and I wanted to do some STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) related projects and soon lots of silly little ideas became one massive stupid idea.”

“It’s all about joined-up learning and activities outside the classroom. It’s aspirational as well.

“It’s teaching them that there’s no reason why you can’t buy an old car and drive it across Europe.”