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Trio raise thousands after 'epic' charity challenge

Isabella Boneham,West Midlandsand
Vic Minett,BBC CWR presenter
News imageDebbie Winstone Three people wearing pink-themed charity T-shirts pose beside a small car decorated with cartoon artwork, hearts and fundraising messages outside the blue entrance gates of Rangers Football Club stadium. One person stands in front of the car with their thumbs up, while the other two leans against the vehicle. The car features a large pink character illustration and colourful writing on the doors.Debbie Winstone
Rosaline Winstone (left) dressed as a flamingo, Debbie Winstone (middle) and Rebecca Winstone (right) outside Rangers Football Club stadium

Three women from Coventry have raised £6,000 after taking part in an "epic" charity 950-mile road trip in an old Honda Civic.

Debbie Winstone, her sister-in-law Rebecca Winstone, and niece Rosaline Winstone embarked on the Bangers and Cash challenge, driving from Chesterfield to Inverness and finishing back down in Whitby – dressed up, and taking on daily challenges on the way.

The trio competed against other teams and ended up winning this year's annual event.

"The whole trip was fantastic, I am still actually processing it because there were so many challenges and so much fancy dress," Debbie told BBC CWR.

News imageDebbie Winstone Three people stand beneath a large outdoor sculpture of two oversized wooden hands forming an arch. Two of the people are wearing white wedding dresses and pink veils, while the person in the centre is dressed in a bright pink panther-style costume with a dark jacket. The group is posing on a wet paved area under a cloudy grey sky, with white buildings and trees visible in the background.Debbie Winstone
Rosaline Winstone (left) and Debbie Winstone (right) in wedding dresses with Rebecca Winstone (middle) dressed as the Pink Panther at Gretna Green.

During the rally, which took place from Thursday 17 to Sunday 21 September, the trio took on challenges including swimming in a waterfall and doing a cold-water plunge.

The team had to send in photos of them doing the challenges as evidence to gain points.

The women's old car won the best dressed award after being spray painted pink by well-known Coventry artist Katie O with flamingos, Penelope Pitstop, and Hello Kitty.

However, Debbie admitted it wasn't all plain sailing.

"There were challenges of driving the car, I must admit I did reverse it into two walls on two separate days," she said.

"I thought on day two that I had burnt the clutch out and we would have to finish, but the clutch and brakes cooled down overnight, and it was okay."

News imageDebbie Winstone Three people pose beside a black car decorated with pink hearts, cartoon artwork and fundraising messages outside Celtic Football Club's stadium. Two of the people wear white Hello Kitty T-shirts, while a third person takes a selfie-style photograph in the foreground. The customised car is parked on a paved concourse leading to the stadium entrance, with green Celtic banners, stadium buildings and an overcast sky visible in the background.Debbie Winstone
The family trio raised £6,000 for charity

The trio who raised thousands for the Hugs Children's Cancer Charity said they would do the challenge again.

Debbie said the idea of embarking on the rally ignited when she was deciding what to do for her 60th birthday this year.

"We thought 'what could we do?' and we just thought 'you know what, this will be great'," said.

Rosalyn said the journey was "fantastic" and "all three of us had a brilliant time".

"We did it all and we would do it again," Debbie added.

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