Crushed car prank sees Wacky Race event end with a bang
No Caption ABCDE
A PRACTICAL joke was the icing on the cake of a Lutterworth Wacky Races-style event which helped raise £4,000 for a pair of good causes.
Teams of participants in specially-decorated cars took part in the 2011 event, called the Le Mans Fox Trot, which saw them travelling to the famous French racetrack before returning home to the Fox Inn, in Rugby Road, Lutterworth.
The event, held last summer, was organised to raise money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance and for a project to buy a community defibrillator for Lutterworth run by the Masharani Patient Participation Group.
The cash was presented to the air ambulance at an event at the Fox Inn last week.
Landlord Ken Seymour, one of the organisers, said that the fun had not been confined to the race itself, as the competitors had decided to play a practical joke on one of the returning participants.
Ken said: “Mark Robinson, one of the owners of Robinsons of Lutterworth, had left the car he used for the race in the car park of the Fox while he went away to Spain and Gibraltar.
“We discretely moved the car to a secret location in Gilmorton and a crushed one, the same colour and with the number plate strategically placed, was put in its place.
“When he returned his response, which is not printable, was significant.”
Ken said the car was returned to Mr Robinson a week later and he saw the funny side of the prank.
The rules of the competition meant the teams could spend a maximum of £500 on their cars.
Teams were also encouraged to decorate their new vehicles and wear their own outfits, if they wanted.
Ken added: “There were outfits ranging from Second World War French gendarmes to Taliban taxi drivers.
“The teams set off on June 10 last year and all the cars and drivers returned a day later, more or less intact.”
Ken said the cars were auctioned off and together with other donations, about £4,000 was raised.
He added: “Most of the cars have been sold, although some of the drivers couldn’t bear to be parted from their oily, leaky new toys.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Harborough
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.