A businessman is to take part in a charity challenge inspired by the popular BBC series Race Across the World.

Andrew Jervis, chief executive of online mechanic marketplace ClickMechanic, will embark on a mission to travel across Britain without any pre-planning, the ability to fly by aeroplane, access to mobile phones and with limited funds.

It is in aid of automotive charity Ben, which works with individuals and companies to promote mental and physical wellbeing within the industry.

And Mr Jervis, who lives in Ballasalla, the village in which he grew up, is looking forward to seeing how his team will fare against up to 50 other groups on the three-day dash from February 26 to 28.

He said: ‘As anyone who has watched “Race Across the World” will know, it is much harder than it sounds to travel across the country solely by land, and without access to mobile phones to plot your route.

‘On top of that, we will only have a limited amount of money to do so, so I think we will be relying a lot on the kindness of strangers.

‘It’s an incredibly exciting challenge for us to be involved with, and Ben is a charity that is very important to us at ClickMechanic.

‘The auto repair industry is a very demanding place and physical and mental wellbeing isn’t always taken into consideration.

‘It’s important to remember that each and everyone of us are human and worries about things such as job security, paying the bills and family and relationship problems can all take their toll.

‘We have a target of raising £3,000 in mind, and we will be pulling out all the stops to not only cross the finish line, but also meet our fundraising target, too.’

ClickMechanic is a car repair booking platform, connecting customers to mobile mechanics in their area.

It was launched in 2012 by Mr Jervis, who was educated at King William’s College, and his business partner Felix Kenton.

The ClickMechanic team is gearing up for the Race Across Britain challenge, where they will face various checkpoints across the country with no idea where the next one will be.

ClickMechanic employs people from around the UK.

Members will have to factor in food, accommodation and travel into their limited budget and will be racing against dozens of other teams to hit each checkpoint in pole position.

The goal is to build up a comfortable cushion ahead of the racing pack to reach the final destination in first place, while sticking within the set budget.

Mr Jervis, who is a keen cyclist, explained why the charity Ben is so close to his company’s heart, and how he is keen to raise as much money as possible to support them.

He added: ‘The work Ben does for professionals in our industry is remarkable and we all have our part to play in supporting them.

‘At ClickMechanic, we are underlining our commitment to fostering a supportive community and raising awareness around physical and mental health issues.’