STAFF from a car dealership are ‘chasing the sun’ today as they bid to drive the length of the UK before sundown in aid of a cancer charity.

Bolton Audi is sending two cars, manned by four-man and three-man teams, to cover the 874 miles between John O’ Groats and Land’s End.

The challenge, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, takes place just three days after the summer solstice – the longest day of the year.

The teams set off from the Scottish highland village of John O’ Groats at 4.02am this morning and hope to reach Land’s End, in Cornwall, before 9.35pm.

They will alternate drivers with each member spending about two hours behind the wheel per stint. Macmillan is the dealership’s chosen charity for 2017, and the challenge is particularly important to Phil Ryder, a master technician at the Morris Street garage.

His wife, Jacqueline, battled breast cancer last year, and Mr Ryder said the support of Macmillan was invaluable to both of them.

The 46-year-old, from Horwich, said: “It isn’t just the fact they were there for Jacqueline, there were times I would just be sat there and they would turn to me and ask ‘actually, are you all right, do you need anything?”

It was Mr Ryder who came up with the idea of a charity challenge to coincide with the summer solstice.

He said: “I was thinking about what we could do for the longest day. We had a look and saw there was only a couple of hours difference between the hours of daylight and the time it would take from John O’ Groats to Land’s End and we turned it into a challenge. It kind of snowballed and has gone from a little bit of a dream to something quite real.”

He added that his colleagues had supported him through the difficult times of his wife’s treatment and diagnosis and the challenge had strengthened their bond still further. To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/inchcapechasethesun