A BMW banger will be the brightest thing on the road as it journeys over 1,600 miles across 12 countries in nine days.

The £450 car, which has been decorated with 5,000 multi-coloured and fluorescent golf balls, will be driven from Bewdley to Amsterdam by four friends.

Emily Seal, Christopher Farley, Matthew Roberts and Richard Jones will complete the Bulldog Rally challenge in support of Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit.

Richard’s son Oscar, 3, who was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect at the age of just six weeks, had life-saving surgery at the unit and the care provided inspired his parents and their friends to take on this fundraising trip of a lifetime.

Emily, 25, from Kidderminster, said: “We went for the wacky and colourful decorations because we wanted to stand out and do something different, and we think the car looks really cool now.

“We renovated the banger ourselves, sticking the golf balls onto the sanded-down bodywork, and we are more than pleased with the end result.

“It is going to be an amazing trip because we all love driving and we are especially looking forward to driving over the Alps and having the convertible soft-top down when the sun is shining.

“We want to experience as much of all the countries we journey through as possible.

“But it is more about the charity than our personal enjoyment.

“Birmingham Children’s Hospital is a cause that is close to all of our hearts and we hope our fundraising will enable other children to receive the same excellent care and treatment that Oscar received.

“It will just be amazing to present them with our donation at the end of the challenge and the money could be the difference between the charity having a new piece of equipment or being able to start a new project, so every penny counts.”

The four friends, who will set off tomorrow (July 23) on their drive between some of Europe’s most iconic cities including Zurich, Milan, Prague and Berlin, have already raised more than £200 for the charity and have set themselves a target of £1,000.

Several companies have also supported their challenge, including Dragon Tyres which donated new tyres for the vehicle and P&O Ferries which has provided a free transfer from Dover to Calais.

To donate visit justgiving.com/bulldogrally14