A pair of adventure seekers are leaving their wives at home in Bristol to battle 4,000 miles of desert heat, minefields and the threat of attack in a journey through West Africa.

Dave Metters, 59, from Coombe Dingle, and Nick Beatty, 52, who lives in Sneyd Park, are set to take part in the Plymouth to Dakar Rally's Banjul Challenge, in which they will attempt to drive a second-hand banger through miles of desert to raise funds for charity.

The pair agree it will be a "mad adventure" and hope the risks will pay off to generate money for £10,000 to be split between Marie Curie Cancer care and the Bristol-based Jessie May Trust.

Naming themselves the Prince Rockers, they will set off on January 8 and travel through France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal before arriving in Banjul, in the Gambia. 

Mr Beatty, who works as a company director, said: "The risks are so real – we understand the Paris-Dakar rally was cancelled this year and in certain parts we will need to travel in convoy with a local guide and possibly an armed escort. This rally is unsupported, so if we break down, we will need to make our own plans to escape the desert and get home."

Once they reach the Gambia the car will be auctioned and the proceeds used to fund local community projects. For Mr Beatty and Mr Metters, a retired youth worker, the first part of the challenge was sourcing a vehicle.

Mr Beatty said: "The car is supposed to be bought for no more than £100 and then you are only supposed to spend £15 on doing it up. 

"With government scrappage schemes it was quite a challenge to find something suitable and also a car that was left-hand drive too, as there are restrictions on driving right-hand drives in the Gambia. 

"We've found a French registered 1995 Citroen ZX 1.8 diesel estate and it has done 374,000km so it is nicely run in."

Now the focus will be on fundraising and preparing themselves for the drive, which is expected to take about three weeks.

Mr Beatty said: "It is a bit mad, thankfully my wife is used to me so she's very supportive. My motto is that you only live once and life is not a rehearsal.

"We're also Freemasons and so we might pack a suit and tie and see if we can find any lodges in West Africa."

To help them to achieve their target the pair are keen to hear from any individuals or businesses who would like to sponsor them or advertise their business on the car.