Soapbox makers from Milton Keynes are taking on 'the slope'

Soapbox makers from Milton Keynes are taking on 'the slope', one of series of international downhill races, in a kart made of an old canoe.

Dan Dixon, 23, Laura Blunden, 22, Jan Cacko, 23, and Richard Crow, 23, have been working on their soapbox for the past 10 weeks.

They will be taking part in the Red Bull Soapbox Race at Alexandra Palace in London on Sunday 9 July.

This is a downhill race for karts that must have no power to drive them other than gravity and no brakes.

The kart, which has cost the team less than £500, has been created to Dan Dixon and his dad's original design, from an old canoe and bits of a gazebo.

Known as The Rat Pack, the team have only tested the kart on local slopes and they are now looking forward to dealing with lots of obstacles in the race.