Chris and his Spitfire battle around Britain

The judoka and his wife, Zoe Redhead, have signed up for the Round Britain Reliability Run for Triumph cars.

They will be driving Chris’s 1966 Spitfire to the start line in London, from where they will return north, ending in John O’Groats before setting off on a return leg.

Before the 48-hour drive begins on October 5, mechanic Chris faces a tough task to get the car in working order.

Zoe said: “I have every faith in him to do it, though I’ll just have a quiet life while he spends his time on our driveway working away till 1am most nights.

“He has 19 days to finish building it, wiring it, fitting it, electronic fuel ignitioning it, test driving it and then get it MoT’d.

“It’s 2022 miles in total, not including the 900-plus miles for us to actually get there and back.

“We will be knackered to say the least and we’ll no doubt argue over my driving at some point seeing it’s his precious car, but it’ll be fun and it’s for charity.”

The couple are now looking for donations – which can be made via uk.virginmoneygiving.com – for charity Children with Cancer.