ESCAPING Chelmsford Prison for charity may not be the usual motivation, but teams of people from across Essex did exactly that.
For the group supporting Chelmsford Boys Club, mobility scooters were their weapon of choice and their ambitious target was to get as far as the High Street.
Their plans was to race – or rather gently amble – around Chelmsford to raise awareness and as much money for the Boys Club as possible.
To make sure they did not look entirely ridiculous, most of them donned "onesies" in the forms of everything from a crocodile to a zebra.
Jamie Drummond, 24, club leader, said: "We are doing it to raise money for a club that has been part of my life since I was nine.
"I really believe in the club and that there should be a place where boys can be boys.
"My father was a club leader before me so it runs in the family.
"The mobility scooter idea was just to grab attention; we were lent them by Meadows Mobility so we are very thankful to them.
"I just asked them if we could borrow a few and they said yes so they have been brilliant."
Mr Drummond, who lives in Chelmsford, was all for the attention-grabbing gimmicks and the onesies just added to the surreal nature of their team.
The zebra, Sue Pell, 62, is heavily involved with the Essex Boys Club.
She said: "I have been up since 5.30am rounding up everyone and getting some of the bikes for the cycle teams in on time.
"I am usually the bus driver so I am always busy. I was asked by Jamie if I wanted to be on his team and I couldn't refuse.
"He said I had to bring a onesie. I didn't have one so he told me not to worry – he had a zebra one spare. So here I am dressed as a zebra on a mobility scooter.
"The club is really good for all those involved so I am happy to support it and hopefully it will help raise some funds."
Other teams came from across Essex and overall 50 "prisoners" were involved in the event.
They were all competing for a range of awards from the furthest distance to the most original form of transport.
Another team decided to rack up the miles by spending the day abseiling in Brentwood, while riding pedal cars in between.
Several teams refused to reveal their top secret plans, while others did not really seem to have any.
One Colchester-based team aimed to cycle through to the Suffolk coast, on the basis that Suffolk was flat, or at least they heard it was.
So far the teams have managed to raise more than £3,000 and the donations are still being counted.
Essex Boys and Girls Club in Rectory Lane is a registered charity that has been running since 1939, providing a variety of activities to the young people who attend.
The jailbreak, organised by the club, has been running for 35 years and always from Chelmsford Prison, with permission from the governor.
"Chelmsford Prison is part of the community and we want to make our contribution, that is why we allow them to come back every year," said deputy governor Lindsay Whitehouse.
