Intrepid fundraisers raised a whopping £100,000 by driving 10,000km across the world in a 35-year-old car known as the 'Tin Snail'.

They raised the funds for Dorchester-based charity Kennedy Disease UK (KD-UK), completing the ‘Great Road Trip’ from Los Angeles to Rome in a vintage Citroen 2CV to help raise awareness of the disease and fund research into a cure.

The disease, also known as spinar bulbar muscular atrophy, is an inherited motor neurone disease that predominantly affects men.

New research from the University of College London suggests the disease is potentially much more common than previously thought with the illness being frequently misdiagnosed.

Kim Slowe, a Kennedy Disease sufferer, trustee of KD-UK, and organiser of The Great Road Trip said: “I know from my own experience how hard it is to be properly diagnosed with the disease. In my case, I had almost 20 years of intrusive and inconclusive tests before a definitive diagnosis was made.

“When I discovered I had Kennedy’s Disease I was daunted – realising the massive impact this would have on not just my life but the lives of those around me. The worst part is knowing that, as this is a genetic disease, there is exactly a 50 per cent chance that my three-year-old grandson will have the illness.

“The research into a cure is extremely promising but desperately underfunded. Every pound really will make a difference and, if we raise enough, there is a chance thousands of future sufferers could live out completely normal lives.”

KD-UK’s road trip was completed with the support of its American counterparts - The Kennedy Disease Association - in two legs between April and July.

The North American leg (Los Angeles to New York) ran between April 18 and May 20 whilst the European leg (Dorchester to Rome) was tackled from July 9 to July 23.

Researchers, sufferers, and medics all actively participated in the event.

The refurbished Citroen 2CV - now 35 years old - is affectionately known as the "Tin Snail" and was manufactured from 1948 to 1990 and is a cult car in Europe.

Donations can be made to Kennedy Disease UK through the Great Road trip Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thegreatroadtrip