A GROUP of four graduate engineers have just completed an 11,000-mile journey from Southampton to Mongolia as part of a charity fundraiser, to deliver a 4x4 to a Mongolian hospital with the aid of GoHelp.

After tirelessly fundraising from dinners, auctions and marathons, the team raised the staggering amount of £20,000 for the journey. After converting a Land Rover Defender to have a stretcher system fitted and cupboards for donated medical equipment, the team started their journey.

William Sexton, 22, of Lacock, said: “It was a mind-blowing experience, truly epic. We had heard of friends driving older cars over to Mongolia to donate or sell for charity and it took off from there. We are blown away by the amount of support we were given.

“We have been given a huge amount of support. A massive thank you to all our sponsors for getting us on the road to help those in areas who need it.”

The journey took two months and the team passed through Prague, Budapest, Butami and Kazakhstan.

“There were four of us in the 4x4 and about 15 to 20 other vehicles all heading to the same place. We have known each other for a while, we were all at university together so it was lucky we all got along for the duration of the journey,” added Mr Sexton.

The car, which has been named Andy, has made a huge impact on the people working at the hospital in Mongolia. Andy will be working near Mongolia's western border with China, serving an area that is 300km wide with a sparse population of around 15,000 people. The terrain is mountainous and has very few roads. In the winter the weather is extreme with temperature below -30c and more than a metre of snow. The hospital currently has two old Russian vehicles which struggle off-road, do less than 10 mpg, and don't have room for a stretcher.

The team have posted a blog that chronicles the journey, which can be found at http://southampton2mongolia.com/. You can also check out the Facebook page ‘Southampton2Mongolia'.