ORGANISERS of a Mini rally are appealing for people to take part.

Freddie St George and his mother Giulia have been running The Italian Job Rally since 1990 and have raised more than £2.5 million for children’s charities.

They organise a different route each year for anyone with a Mini to drive 3,500 miles across Europe.

Freddie, who lives in Steyning, said the idea came about 30 years ago in Hove.

The 50-year-old said: “Some friends had just done the Beaujolais Classic Rally in France, so that’s where I got the idea. It’s one of those things that just happened accidentally.”

The first Italian Job Rally in 1990 raised £70,000 after 55 teams showed up to take part.

Freddie said: “It’s a very special motoring event as we take people to places that are off the beaten track and we always introduce the teams to the lovely Italian food and wine to say thank you for their fundraising.”

Anyone with a Mini or any other classic car which features in the 1969 film The Italian Job, can take part in the rally at a cost of £1,450 per person.

This year’s run will begin on October 28 and will take in the Conca Valley and the Garfagnana area in northern Tuscany.

Freddie said: “We always have all kinds of Minis, old and new, and we have a service van that comes with us in case of break-downs.

“All the guys who do the rally in an old Mini do it with a smile.”

Last year’s rally raised more than £190,000 for Buttle UK, a charity that helps

children in need through grants.

Ambassadors for the charity, S Club 7’s Rachel Stevens and TV’s Judge Rob Rinder, joined the rally in 2018 and Freddie said Rob will be taking part again this year.

He said: “This will be our third year raising for Buttle UK and we need to raise £96,000 to meet our overall target of £3 million.

“It’s a great achievement.

“We never had a clue it was going to raise this much when we started in 1990.”

To find out more or to register, visit italianjob.com.