THE end of a marathon drive across the USA was flagged up by a cheque. A fund raising team from Comet country drove a pair of 1972 Mk1 Ford Escorts across America last September. But they have just completed the final stage of the trip by presenting a che

THE end of a marathon drive across the USA was flagged up by a cheque.

A fund raising team from Comet country drove a pair of 1972 Mk1 Ford Escorts across America last September.

But they have just completed the final stage of the trip by presenting a cheque to the local branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

The Fords on Tour team, made up of Jon Ward from Hitchin and father and son duo Marc and Lee Lawrence from Ickleford, gave a slide show presentation about their epic journey to the branch at its monthly meeting held at the United Reformed Church in Cuttys Lane, Stevenage.

Following the show, a cheque for £6,450 was presented to branch patron Dr Dorothy Anderson (pictured below). After shipping their cars to the US, the intrepid trio drove from Baltimore on the east coast, through New York City, up to Niagara Falls and then west along Route 66 to St Louis, Tulsa, Amarillo, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

The last section of the journey saw them driving through Death Valley, California, in temperatures of well over 100 degrees F, up to San Francisco and then back down to Los Angeles.

They went through 13 states on the drive of over 5,600 miles which took nearly three weeks to complete. The cars were then shipped back to the UK via the Panama Canal.

The money raised by the adventure will be used to buy much needed equipment and services for local people suffering from motor neurone disease, a steadily progressive neurological disease which affects the nerves of the body.

Pictures and a summary of the adventure can be seen by logging on to the team's website at www.fords-on-tour.freeuk.com