Derbyshire dads in 500-mile topless drive for charity

The Derbyshire dads will be driving with the roof down whatever the weather

A group of dads is embarking on a 500-mile (804km) topless road trip around the UK.

The seven-strong team from Derbyshire has acquired three old convertible cars and will take on a journey through England, Wales and Scotland with the tops down whatever the weather.

They also plan for at least one of them to be shirtless at all times during the two-day challenge which starts today.

The dads are raising money for mental health charity Mind.

One of the dads, Simon Luscombe, said: "We meet as a group once a month in our local pub.

"Somebody we all knew took their own life two or three years ago and it did affect us.

"We started talking about it and it opened questions about mental health in general, so we felt we wanted to do something in our own small way.

"A lot depends on the weather but the important thing is one of us will be topless at any given time.

"If someone get too cold we'll be swapping straight away."

He said the group planned to visit Chirk in Wales before driving up to Gretna Green on the Scottish border then returning to Derbyshire.

"Bear in mind these are all old cars and we're more than aware something may go wrong," he said.

"We are as prepared as we can be."

Roj Woolley hopes the drive will raise awareness of men's mental health

The dads have been doing some topless trial runs around the Peak District which, Mr Luscombe said, "put a smile on people's faces".

Roj Woolley, another team member, said he hoped the challenge would raise awareness of mental health and encourage men to seek help if they are struggling.

The dads hope to raise £5,000 through the trip and already have more than £3,000 pledged by supporters.

Ian O'Reilly, head of community and events fundraising at Mind, said: "We are really grateful to this group of dads for choosing to support Mind through the Topless Challenge, and we wish them well."