Church minister 'Phil the Mod' rides Vespa scooter from John O'Groats to Land's End for foodbank

Rev. Ingram, the minister at the Light House Christian Centre, Brierfield, travelled 837 miles on his 26 year-old Vespa scooter the length of the country pulling a huge cross on a specially made trailer raising awareness for the need of the communities, raising funds to feed the hungry and praying for the nation and communities on his way.

Describing the 12-day experience as “incredible”, Phil (59) raised £600 and counting for the Light House foodbank and is hoping more donations will allow him to help other food banks in the area.

He said: “I originally thought about walking the full length but realised that would take far too long, which wouldn’t have been fair on my family. I believe God then gave me the idea to make the trip on my scooter pulling a cross so I could pray for the nation on my way.

“I’m known as ‘Phil the Mod’ because of my scooter so it just had to be.

“Sadly, I think we are broken as a nation at the moment. We have this terrible cost of living crisis and many families are struggling to pay for their own food. I wanted to pray for us all, our new King and Government, and raise money for our foodbank.

“It was an incredible experience and one I will never forget. Throughout the trip I stayed and prayed with people I had never met and received lots of smiles and well wishes from people across the country.”

Phil, a lorry driver by trade, said he experienced true British spring weather on the journey – a mixture of torrential rain, wind and sunshine. He was accompanied by friend Tony Davies who travelled behind in a support van.

He added: “I had only been as far north as Dundee before so it was a reall treat to see all of Scotland which is breathtaking, a beautiful country. The scooter rode beautifully until Bath when we had to get her repaired. She’s like new again now.”

To support Phil’s fund-raising you can email him on [email protected].