A PETROLHEAD is giving something back to a wish-granting charity which supported his stepdaughter.
Phil Meredith and best friend Huw Lewis are taking on a 1,400 marathon four day rally called Benidorm or Bust.
They drove to Dover before catching a ferry to Calais and are set to reach their destination in Spain on Saturday (June 16).
The pair from Bidford are taking on the fund-raising event to raise money for charity Dreams Come True, which supported Phil’s stepdaughter Chloe Print-Lambert.
Chloe suffers from chronic conditions Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Mastocytosis, which have left her needing constant access to oxygen, to be fed through a tube in her chest and prone to seizures which cause her joints to dislocate and stop her breathing.
The charity granted the 23-year-old’s ‘wish’ to go travelling around Europe, paying for accommodation and insurance, along with organising care and support along the way.
Phil, who owns Cotswold Automotive with his wife Suzé, said: ‘Seeing my stepdaughter’s face when Dreams Come True granted her wish of travelling around Europe with her partner will never be forgotten.
“It’s time to put that smile on another young person’s face. Living with life limiting, degenerative, painful disabilities is something that I will never understand.
“This way I get to spend time with my best mate, raise money for a worthwhile charity and help a dream come true.”
Chloe has previously appeared on BBC tv show DIY SOS after her plight was highlighted by the Observer and consequently national press.
She had been faced with moving out of the family home to cope with her complex medical needs.
But presenter Nick Knowles, designer Lawrence Llwellyn Bowen and their team descended on the Print-Lambert home – where Chloe lives with mum Suze, Phil and brother Joshua – to carry out the makeover.
Local businesses and traders gave their time and goods for free to transform the entire house and build a self-contained apartment complete with wet room for former Stratford Girls’ Grammar School pupil Chloe – who was previously living in the family lounge.
Visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/themdukeboyz to donate to Phil’s Benidorm or Bust rally.
