To mark the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, a Carlisle couple is raising money for the survivors by driving 2,500 miles across Europe.

Bill Foster, 59, and Sarah Steward, 49, will today begin their five-day journey to take part in the Screwball Rally as a way to raise money for a good cause that is close to their hearts - the Hillsborough Survivors Association.

“This year being the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, I thought it would be fitting to raise funds for them,” said Bill.

“I’m from Liverpool anyway and I had friends that had gone to Hillsborough - 41 of them never came back, so it’s always been a cause that has been close to my heart.”

Sarah added: “I believe in raising money for charity anyway so doing something like this, it’s a fun adventure and there are loads of other people doing it as well.”

The pair are aiming to raise £1,000 for the Hillsborough Survivors Association, so far they have raised £100, but their online fundraising page will be open for another six months.

Bill said: “I contacted the Disaster Fund and Survivors Association, the Survivors Association said they ‘would be more than happy’ for us to raise funds for them.”

Cars that are taking part in the rally are often decorated to match a theme: Ghostbusters, clowns, Star Wars, and pigs.

Bill and Sarah have decorated their car to pay their respects to the lives lost on April 15, 1989 and the unity formed between Everton and Liverpool.

“The blue and the red signifies blue for Everton and red for Liverpool, which is a city united in grief for the 96 people that lost their lives,” Bill added.

It isn’t just their car that will honor the lives lost that day, their football strips will reflect this too.

Sarah will wear a blue football strip whilst Bill will wear a red football strip - the back of their t-shirts each has a nine or a six.

Their car also bears the names and ages of each person who died on that day in a heart.

This is the third year that Bill will have taken part in the rally which sees more than 80 teams tour Europe in old cars.

“It was something I had always wanted to do but never got around to doing,” he explained, “so I decided I’d do it once so that I could say I’ve done it.

“Unfortunately, I got the bug so I did it again in 2018 and then again this year.”

For the first two years that he took part in the rally, he raised money for the RAF Benevolent Fund which is another charity that is close to his heart as he was formerly in the Air Force.

The rally this year will take them through England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Switzerland.