WITH just six wheels between them, half-a-dozen servicemen are hoping to drive 3,600 miles in two Reliant Robins.

For the unusual challenge, the men, from RAF Brize Norton’s 216 Squadron, aim to drive from the West Oxfordshire base to Tamworth, near Birmingham, and then RAF Gibraltar and back in two of the vehicles occasionally mocked for only having three wheels.

They hope to complete the motoring challenge in seven days, and to raise £10,000 for charity. They will not be using motorways, and believe taking the long way around will stretch their journey to 3,600 miles.

Senior Aircraftman Technician Daniel Wellstead said: “We wanted to do something a bit different. I am looking forward to it. It should be good.

“There are three of us in each of the Reliant Robins, plus the tent and kit, and tools and food and stuff — it will be quite a tight fit.

“Driving them has been a new experience. It is a first time for all of us.”

The team — which includes colleagues James Booth, Stephen Porter, Spike Durham, Robert Scovell and Richard Thompson — have bought a 1980 and a 1992 Reliant Robin. The men have painted the three-wheelers in the 216 Squadron’s colours to match the Tri-Star aircraft they operate.

Mr Wellstead, 24, said: “We have chosen these vehicles not only for the challenge of fitting six fully-grown men in them in the first place, but also to get maximum attention. Having driven the 1980 car from Hastings back to RAF Brize Norton, I can certainly vouch for it turning a few heads.”

The team will set off on Sunday, September 12, to coincide with the Reliant Owners’ Club’s 75th Anniversary Rally, held at Tamworth.

To begin with, the servicemen wanted to raise £5,000. But having already reached their total, the men have doubled the fundraising goal.

The money will be split between the Bell House Ward, at the John Radcliffe Hospital, which helps cardiac patients, and the Beer for the Boys campaign, a charity that aims to provide a free alcoholic beverage to servicemen and women flying home from Afghanistan.

For more information, visit the team’s thread on the Reliant Robin’s website, at r3w.co.uk A group has also been set up on Facebook, under Gib Job.