TWO old school friends who are on a charity drive to Outer Mongolia are being hampered by corrupt Russian police and border control confusion.

James Hammond and Mark Swindells set off from London on Saturday for the 8,000-mile journey across Europe in a rusty 13-year-old Fiat Panda bought off eBay for less than the cost of a set of tyres.

The North Yorkshire friends are competing in the 2005 London to Mongolia Rally.

The route will take them across 13 countries, five mountain ranges and two deserts.

Speaking by phone while stuck in a Moscow traffic jam yesterday, the 25-year-old former pupils of Ripon Grammar School, in North Yorkshire, said spirits were high.

However, they said they had attracted the attention of traffic police looking for bribes. On one occasion, they were even stopped for speeding, despite travelling well below the legal limit.

Businessman Mr Hammond said: "They wave a stick at you and you have to stop or they shoot you - it's pretty hardcore. They're just looking for bribes - you give them 30 euros and they let you go.

"We also had trouble on the border control into Russia. They didn't speak any English but eventually we got through."

They say the car has run smoothly since the water pump gave up on them shortly before leaving London.

"It's working fine - touch wood," said Mr Hammond. "It's coped with some awful roads, but now they are going to get worse."

After entering France by ferry, the friends drove for 12 hours without rest to get to the checkpoint in Prague, in the Czech Republic.

From there, they travelled through Germany, Poland, Ukraine and into Russia.

The next leg of the journey takes them through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. They hope to arrive in Mongolia in about two weeks.

Their progress is being followed by friends and family in the UK.

Margaret Hammond, James' mother, from Knaresborough, receives regular text messages from the pair.

She said: "I think it's a wonderful trip for them - a real boy challenge."

The 999cc Fiat was chosen to comply with rally rules, which state vehicles must have an engine no bigger than one litre and must be in a poor state of repair.

The friends hope to raise thousands of pounds for the Save the Children and Send a Cow charities by competing in the rally.

To follow their progress, visit www.mongolrally.co.uk