NEVER let it be said you cannot rely on Susan Boyle.

NEVER let it be said you cannot rely on Susan Boyle.

That is the message from two St Neots fundraisers, who completed a 2,800-mile charity race in a car named after the singer.

Along with their fellow drivers they helped to raise �80,000 for charity.

Friends Nick Hall and Dev Sales were among nearly 120 entries in the Scum Run 2011, a four-day race across Europe to raise money for Dreams Come True, which grants wishes to terminally-ill children.

Competitors must complete the race in a car costing no more than �500 – in Nick and Dev’s case a 16-year-old �360 BMW 530i dubbed Susan.

The unlikely trio were in the top 10 on the first three days of the race, which took them from Calais to Strasbourg – via the Champagne houses of Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon – Nuremburg, Prague, Vohl in central Germany, Bruges and Calais again.

Nick, a company director from Mill Hill Road, St Neots, said: “Susan did not put a foot wrong the entire journey.

“She took all the bad roads and very, very fast Autobahns with ease and didn’t complain – even when other competitors drove into us.”

The pair would have finished higher up in the final race rankings but were side-tracked by the pull of the historic Nurburgring racetrack, the finishing line for several previous Scum Runs.

Nick said: “We mistakenly decided to detour to the Nurburgring ‘on the way’ and left ourselves the huge task of completing a 360-mile trip through Germany, Holland, Belgium and France in three hours and 20 minutes to catch the ferry.

“Needless to say we didn’t make it but it was close. The ferry had not left due to high seas so we had the chance to catch up with some of the wonderful people we had met on the rally and got the next ferry home.”

By the end of day four, the field of Scum Runners had raised about �80,000 for the charity Dreams Come True, with the donations still rolling in.

And the too-close encounters with other competititors? Nick said: “They were just playful nudges. One to the rear while we were waiting to set off from near Kassel and one to the front while we were sat in a traffic jam on a German motorway.

“They were from two different teams who we got on really well with and we have kept in touch with. We’re planning a joint trip to a racing circuit in the south of France with them next year.”

Nick and Dev enjoyed the race so much that they have already decided to take part again next year but will be seeking sponsorship to help them raise even more for charity.

“This year cost me and Dev around �3,000 to take part, so we will be offering advertising space on the car for sponsorship.”

INFORMATION: For more about next year or donate to this year’s total visit www.justgiving.com/nick-dev