Two friends will race through eight countries in just four days as part of a rally fundraiser - in a bright orange 1968 Ford Mustang.

Norwich Evening News: Brian Bush and Andy Pitt will be driving a 1968 Ford Mustang through eight countries in four days as part of a fundraiser. Picture: Adam Barnes of Platform TicketBrian Bush and Andy Pitt will be driving a 1968 Ford Mustang through eight countries in four days as part of a fundraiser. Picture: Adam Barnes of Platform Ticket

Andy Pitt and Brian Bush will take on the James Bond Fireball Rally in September, when they will drive through France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium - covering roughly 2,000 miles.

Mr Pitt, who lives off Unthank Road in Norwich, will be fundraising for the Alzheimer's Society, while Mr Bush, from Kirstead Green, will be raising cash for JDRF, a type 1 diabetes charity.

The pair were inspired to act after seeing first-hand the impacts of both conditions - Mr Pitt's father-in-law has Alzheimer's, while Mr Bush lives with type 1 diabetes.

Father-of-three Mr Pitt, 47, said: 'About five years ago my father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it's been a very, very hard thing to watch - the inevitable decline in someone's health and who they are. It's quite frightening.

'And then a couple of years ago my very good friend Brian out of nowhere developed type 1 diabetes. Now he's learnt to deal with it, he wanted to help others do the same.'

Mr Pitt, managing director at Service Service Recruitment in Norwich, said that, beyond making sure the car was in as good a state as possible, there was little the friends could do to prepare for the challenge, which he said was likely to be quite a 'gruelling task'.

But to give it a warm-up, he said he'd recently taken it to Portishead - roughly 250 miles - and that, so far, it had coped well.

Donations are already starting to come in - as of Saturday, Mr Bush had raised just under £500, while Mr Pitt had collected £1,100.

But as well as fundraising, Mr Bush, who is head of business development at The Gazette and legislation.gov.uk, said he wanted to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes. He said it is often viewed as a result of lifestyle, when, instead, it is a chronic illness which does not go away.

• To keep up with what the pair are doing, click here.

• To donate to Mr Pitt's fundraising, click here and to donate to Mr Bush's, click here.