Rally granny Cheryl and fellow heroes aim to add to their £500,000 fundraising total for veterans

Cheryl Spencer, 56 from Portchester, has helped to stage a number of events which will take place during the year to raise money for SSAFA, an armed forces charity that works with veterans across the country

A massive fan of all things on four wheels, Cheryl’s fundraisers will all have a motoring theme.

On Sunday, Boss cars UK and Rally for Heroes – which Cheryl is part of – have a car show in Dorking to kick-start the campaign.

From there, they will be driving through 10 countries in as many days and doing a rally in Barbados.

SSAFA works to meet the needs of armed forces veterans, from emotional support to physical needs like disabled facilities.

Cheryl said: ‘It’s all very exciting.

‘I’m certainly a petrolhead and the grandchildren seem to love it – almost as much as I do.

‘I got involved with SSAFA a couple of years ago at a car show – I just got chatting to them and it all grew from there.

‘I got involved because a lot of my family members have had roles in the armed forces, so this is my way of not only contributing to that but supporting them and people like them.

‘I’ve taken part in the Rally For Heroes to raise money for SSAFA – combined, all the cars involved raised £127,000, which was incredible.’

The campaign was organised by Rally For Heroes, which Cheryl is a part of, and has raised about £500,000.

Cheryl added: ‘Things have been going really well since we started fundraising.

‘Fingers crossed we can break through the £1m barrier soon.

‘One of the things that really motivates me is that even though the charity itself is one of the oldest around it doesn’t seem to be as well-known as some other charities.

‘I just want to raise awareness for the charity so people can see the amazing work that these people do.

‘There are so many events planned for this year so I’ll certainly be keeping myself busy.’

For more information about SSAFA people can go to ssafa.org.uk.