WITH nothing but a small pair of red trunks, a few sponges and a bucket of water, a group of friends raised hundreds of pounds over the weekend from a charity car wash.
The four topless hunks gathered in the car park opposite the Riverside Inn, Victoria Road, Chelmsford, on Saturday to offer passing motors a hand wash – and a pleasant view while they waited – in exchange for a donation toward their upcoming expedition in aid of the Prince's Trust.
"I think our outfits went down pretty well with customers actually," said one of the 'hunks in trunks', James Hirst, who was joined by brother Tom, and friends Lee Moore and Chris Wilson on the day, with fifth team mate Chris Diggle unable to take part.
"We had no complaints or children crying at least, so I it seemed like it went really well, and we managed to raise £485 in the process," said James.
"I wanted to choose something to wear which was eye-catching and a little bit ridiculous too, so that's how the trunks came about.
"But it was actually harder than we thought it would be in the heat.
"I imagined washing one car then stopping for a bit of a chat and a rest, but as it turned out we had six or seven queuing up at any one time."
All funds raised from Saturday's efforts will be put toward the Chelmsford boys' fundraising challenge in September for which they will hike, bike and kayak 100 miles over three days, racing coast to coast across Somerset and Devon.
The UK Wild Challenge has so far raised about £1 million for the Prince's Trust, which supports young people in their business ventures, and helps them to turn their lives around.
"One of our team has worked closely with the charity and even mentored some of the kids himself which is why he was keen to put a team together this year," said James, 31.
"He's done it before and this time around he's looking for us to win as a team, but we're feeling pretty confident. We're training really hard with Essex Boot Camp and enjoying it – now we just need to raise the money."
The five must raise £5,000 before the event from September 6 to 8 and have a number of other fundraisers planned in the coming months.
"We've already had lots of support from business Rates Ford in Grays, and BRN Groundwork, so a big thank you to them," said James, who runs boot camps in Cambridgeshire.
"And anyone who donates over £20, including at the car wash, will be in with a chance to win an iPad 3."
