Hereford couple raise almost £9k in Norway charity drive

Niall Dodds and his partner Sue, embarked on a 5,500 mile round trip from Hereford to Nordkapp in Norway

A Herefordshire couple have driven 5,500 miles (8,850 km) from their hometown to Norway in a bid to raise money for charity.

Niall Dodds and his partner Sue Weaver, drove from Hereford to Nordkapp in their 1968 VW Squareback in March.

The pair raised £8,691 after initially setting a target of £5,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mr Dodds said they were "blown away" and had been grateful for the generosity of those who had donated.

He said the "massive VW heads" had been inspired to make the trip after one of their friends had driven to Holland in a VW Beetle.

"I kind of saw that and thought I'd like to do that in my Beetle," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester, adding they had ended up choosing a bigger VW car that was more comfortable.

"We thought that if we're doing this, maybe people would be interested to follow our journey and hopefully we can try and raise some money for charity," he explained.

After setting off on 3 March, the duo drove through France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Denmark, Sweden and Finland, stopping off to stay in hotels along the way.

They faced sub-zero temperatures, icy roads and snow, before reaching the Arctic Circle almost two weeks later on 18 March.

The pair managed to raise almost £9,000 after setting a target of £5,500

Mr Dodds said they had wanted to raise money for the cancer charity after it supported family members who had received diagnoses in the past.

The pair had hoped to raise £5,500, £1 for each of the 5,500 miles driven on their roundtrip, but ended up exceeding their target.

Anyone who had donated £10 to the fundraiser had also been allowed to sign the car bonnet.

"The target we set was quite an extreme target anyway, and we've exceeded that," he said.

"If we can get up to £10,000 that would just be amazing, it really would."