Merry men to raise vital cash for Sheffield hospital

Trevor Hill will take part in the Benidorm or Bust Rally which gets under way on Wednesday.

He and step-father Stuart Johnson are raising money for the Northern General Hospital's palliative care unit.

They chose that cause in memory of Trevor's mother Dian who received care there before dying of cancer last year.

"It's such a good cause," Springwood Lane, Balby, resident Mr Hill said.

His mother spent six months in the unit. The cancer spread from her bladder to her bones.

The unit did a great job in looking after Dian, Mr Hill said.

"They were absolutely brilliant," he said.

"Dad virtually lived there for the last few months.

He's confident his banger, a 1997 Kia Pride, will be fine on the long journey.

That's because Mr Hill is a mechanic.

"I've given it a full service," he said.

He works at Sherwood Truck and Van on Highfield Lane.

That's where the Robin Hood theme comes from. The team is called the Merriemen.

They have decorated the car to look like it's been through an ambush, complete with arrows sticking out the roof.

It's a change from Mr Hill's usual costume. His nickname is Trelvis, such is his penchant for dressing like the King.

"Someone called me that about 20 years ago, and it stuck," he said.

He will still wear the Elvis wig with the costume on the big drive.

The 1,400 mile journey from Calais to Benidorm gets underway as soon as the field rolls off the ferry from Dover.

From there, there are stops at Rouen, Bordeaux and Zaragoza before the drivers finish at Benidorm.

Along the way, the field will navigate the Pyrenees mountain range, and take in some of the Pau street circuit.

Pau was the venue for the 1930 French Grand Prix.

Mr Hill looked forward to the camaraderie between the teams when the rally gets under way.

"Everyone is going to have fun," he said.

He said he had about £1,000 pledged to the cause so far.

You can visit Mr Hill's fundraising page here