TWO Devon detectives face a challenge later this month as they set off from Plymouth to drive through the Sahara to the West Coast of Africa. The Plymouth Dakar Challenge is in its fourth year ? there are around 200 teams taking part in the challenge to spend a month, driving a £100 left hand drive ?banger? to the Gambia in aid of charity. Graham Cruickshank from Okehampton will be joined by a colleague from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary major crime investigation team, Mike Barker from Newton Abbot. Graham, who spends his working hours investigating murders and serious crime across the two counties, said he and Mike had sacrificed their leave for the year to take part in the unusual challenge. There are two main official rules; firstly the vehicle must not cost more than £100, be left hand drive and be sold for charity on arrival in the Gambia. Secondly, only £75 can be spent in preparing the vehicle and there is no outside help or support allowed en-route! Graham said: ?It is believed that there is a third unwritten rule that states, ?rules are made to be broken?. But this is yet to be tested!? Graham said he and Mike were pleased to have located a suitable 1990 Citroen 1.6 automatic BX saloon for about £100, which they hoped would be able to make the 4,500-mile journey in one piece. Graham has visited the Sahara once before when he went across the desert with a scout group and the Save the Children Fund as a teenager to build a playground for African children. Graham said both he and Mike had commented that they would like to do the challenge. But Mike returned from three months working in Thailand earlier this year to find Graham had signed them both up! Graham said: ?We are both looking forward to it. On occasions it is going to be quite tough.? The two-man teams are split into groups who will leave Britain at different times over the Christmas period to travel to Soto Grande near Gibraltar, the first gathering point. The challenge will involve driving across France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and finally the Gambia. Graham said about a week of this will be spent crossing the open Sahara Desert on sand. When the competitors arrive at the destination they auction off the vehicles they have travelled in and other items with all the money going to hospitals and schools across Gambia. With help from two main sponsors, Graham and Mike have managed to borrow what they hope will be the correct combination of tools, spares, beds and equipment to carry them from Plymouth to Dakar. Dave Pitcher at Court Street Garage, Moretonhampstead, used his years of experience in the garage trade to help prepare the car. and was instrumental in sourcing parts from written off cars and scrap yards. Paul Nye of Paul Nye (Waste Management) Ltd, which runs the recycling centres at Newton Abbot, Exeter and Okehampton, also helped to source camping, sleeping, eating and other essential equipment from his recycling depots. Graham said: ?As a result, the challenge has taken recycling and waste management beyond the normal boundaries of Devon, and if all goes well, as far as the African Continent.?