A GRIEVING Poole dad is driving to Barcelona in an old banger in homage to the beloved son he lost to an inoperable brain tumour.

Roger Wheeler, 47, has even dyed his hair blue and pink to match the £250 car, which is also emblazoned with a photo of his son Carl, who died in September 2010 aged 28.

He’s set to raise more than £4,000 for Brain Tumour UK on his 1,200 mile Barcelona Banger rally challenge.

Mr Wheeler, whose wife Ellie will join him for the ride, said: “I’ve always wanted to do something like this.

“When I realised I could raise awareness and a bit of money, I signed right up.

“Carl dying so young was a waste of a life, it was just terrible. I want to fundraise to help someone else’s life become a bit better.”

Popular Carl died in his dad’s arms at Forest Holme Hospice three years after being diagnosed.

Symptoms included a strange taste in his mouth, feeling faint and, lastly, a fit.

Faced with survival rates of less than 10 per cent, the family tried to get him treated at London’s Harley Street and in America.

Mr Wheeler said: “He just put it to the back of his mind. You never would have known there was anything wrong with him until the very end.

“It is so unnatural to hold your son in your arms when he takes his last breath.”

Carl’s wedding to “soul mate” Hannah was brought forward and his parents joined them on their honeymoon, a cruise taking in Barcelona itself. Mr Wheeler added: “It’ll be quite poignant. I’m looking forward to visiting the bar I went into with him for a drink.”

The Wheelers and three other teams left Chalwyn Industrial Estate, which houses Mr Wheeler’s EAS garage services, on Thursday, bound for Calais.

They will then motor through northern France, over the Alps, along the French Riviera, past Perpignan and on to Barcelona.

Donate at justgiving.com/easgarage.