Back to the future journey raised £15,000 for prostate cancer charity

June 27, 2017

More than £15,000 was raised for prostate cancer by Commercial Director Jason Ramsey and Production Director Lewis Nicholas driving 1800 miles across Europe in five days.

Jason and Lewis chose the 1980s film Back to the Future as their theme for the international Sci-Fi trek through the Pyrenees and Spain.

They collected £10,000 in sponsorship. The company contributed another £5000.

Dressed as Marty McFly and Doc Brown in a customised 10-year-old BMW Z4, Jason and Lewis joined 24 other cars on the eighth Keyline international rally to raise muchneeded cash for Prostate Cancer UK. In seven years, the event has raised nearly £1 million for the charity.

Jason said: “Our 163-strong workforce is mostly male so Prostate Cancer UK felt especially relevant, as every year 42,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Money raised by the rally will help fund vital research into tests, treatments and its causes.”

Last year, as superheroes Super Mario and his brother, Luigi, Jason and Lewis were among 20 cars that raised more than £150,000 for the charity.

Next year, the rally will head for Monaco with organisers hoping to top £1million total. The 2018 rally will be themed Millionaire’s Rally.

Keyline, a specialist supplier of civils and drainage solutions with a base at Little Melton, is a key supplier for Bateman Groundworks.

The journey left Keyline’s Northampton headquarters for a crossing from Portsmouth to Santander, driving through the mountains before dropping down to the north east coast of Spain, finishing at Le Mans before travelling home.

Sat navs were banned on the route and three mechanics were on hand for any break downs.

David Gardner, of Keyline, said: “Our longstanding partnership with Prostate Cancer began in 2010, when the company initially pledged to raise £25,000 in one year.”

James Beeby, Director of Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We really can’t thank Keyline enough for their incredible fundraising efforts for Prostate Cancer UK. The money raised will continue to help funding for research into early diagnosis and better treatments which in turn will help us stop prostate cancer being a killer.”