A FLAT tyre, broken exhausts, sump guards falling off – and more than 10,000 miles covered for charity.

Haddington’s Stephen Barcroft and 22-year-old Chris Crawford, from Dunbar, set off from their homes in East Lothian on July 18 to take part in the Mongol Rally.

The event sees teams drive across Europe and into Asia to raise money for charity.

And now, the duo – known as the Gingerbread Men – are now heading home after reaching the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar.

Stephen said: “For every 10 minutes’ fun there has been an hour of boredom while driving, but it has definitely been a memorable experience.” It has been a journey of attrition, though, with the duo’s black Peugeot 107 suffering a few mishaps along the way.

A complete list of breakdowns shows: sump guard falling off (x3); fuel pump issues due to a massive crack in the casing (x2); exhaust falling off/snapping (x3); a flat tyre (x1); one of the cylinders (out of three) misfiring, which meant taking on the second highest highway in the world using a third of the 1,000cc engine; one of the cylinder coil packs being held together by duct tape;the roof box falling off in the middle of the desert; most body panels being held on by duct tape; and the ‘check engine’ light being on for the last few 1,000 miles.

Stephen, from Knowesley Park, Haddington, said: “When we had our first break down in the middle of the Pamir Highway [a long route through the mountains of Central Asia], I thought it was the beginning of the end.

“I started thinking ‘Whose stupid idea was it to bring the car all the way up here?’, then I realised it was me.

“We got that problem [the crack in the fuel pump] fixed with cable ties, wire and glue – ever since then we’ve just kept on going.” The 39-day journey saw the duo leave East Lothian and initially head south to Battersea Park, London.

From there, they have travelled through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, back into France and then on to Germany.

Then across Austria and into Slovakia before heading south to Hungary and on to Romania and Bulgaria.

Turkey was then ticked off before heading into Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Finally, they travelled through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and lastly Mongolia.

Camping, staying in a hotel and even sleeping in the car has broken up the mammoth journey for the former Knox Academy pupils.

It has meant hour after hour in the car together and Stephen, 22, added: “We haven’t been apart for a long time. We drove all day in the same car, then slept in the same tent/room – but we haven’t had a fist fight, so I’d count that as a success!” The event has seen a number of teams taking part from across Great Britain to raise money for Cool Earth and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The East Lothian duo broke the £2,000 fundraising barrier, with the cash being split between the two worthy causes.

Now, they are plotting their return after a couple of days in the Mongolian capital city.

Heading west along a main highway in Russia, they reached Moscow this week and return through Europe before heading back home.

To make a donation go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/gingerbreadmenrally