RALLY driver Mr Steve Poad could hardly believe his eyes when a fully laden hearse sped past him at 90mph.

But the undertaker, who was chatting into his mobile phone, still managed to toot and wave at Mr Poad and co-driver Mr Shaun Wilson.

The bizarre incident happened in Italy when the pair were taking part in the famous Italian Job charity rally.

"A little further along we saw a man taking a skunk for a walk on a lead," said Mr Poad, "It could only happen in Italy."

They were just two of the more unusual tales the Darlington post office manager and his farm manager team mate from Thirsk have come back with after completing the gruelling 3,400 mile trip at the wheel of a Mini.

They travelled in a police convoy from Kent to Dover with about 90 other Minis, an E-type Jaguar and an Aston Martin, to experience the rally which grew out of Michael Caine's classic Italian Job movie.

Joined by a further eight teams from Italy, Holland, Canada and New Zealand, the convoy set out on a three-day journey to the beautiful Adriatic resort of Imola, in Emilia Romagna, Italy, to raise cash for children's charities.

But it was not all plain sailing. A bad first night and a crash high up in the hills above Bologna provided memorable moments.

Mr Poad, aged 45, who runs Cleveland Terrace post office at Ken Warne's supermarket in Darlington, told the D&S Times: "There was no accommodation left in Rheims on the first night, so we ended up squeezed into the Mini.

"We got about 1 hours sleep and the next day we neither looked good nor smelt good."

Days later a momentary lapse of concentration near Bologna ended in a bill for £1,500. "We were coming round a left hand corner going down the hill when I crashed into a Renault 5 coming up," said Mr Poad.

"Unfortunately I had my English head on instead of my Italian head and bashed right into him, bending the front passenger wing, grill, headlight, spotlight and door.

"He had no insurance or tax and said he was not bothered because the car was going to be scrapped anyway."

Bologna also saw the encounter with the Italian hearse. "We were driving along a motorway at about 90mph when a hearse complete with coffin went screaming past us. The driver was engrossed in conversation on a mobile phone but still took the time to peep the horn and wave," said Mr Poad. Further along they saw the skunk being taken for a walk.

The pair expect to have raised £4,000 by the closing date in February, helping lift this year's Italian Job charity total to £1m for Italian and English children's charities.

Mr Poad hopes to talk his wife Sue into going next year. "The trip is absolutely brilliant and I would recommend it to everybody and anybody.

"If you are fit and healthy, buy a Mini and do the Italian Job. You'll never regret it. That's what I keep telling the wife.