Two construction bosses are swapping the building site for the dusty deserts of Mongolia as they undertake a 10,000 mile charity challenge.

Matthew McCarrick (28) and Scott Delaney (34) are driving an ambulance more than 10,000 miles from Salford to Ulaanbaatar in just three weeks to raise up to £20,000 for MedEquip4Kids.

The duo are taking part in the 2010 Mongol Rally, which sees teams of adventurers getting to Mongolia any way they can. Matthew and Scott both work for Bovis Lend Lease, the firm constructing MediaCityUK, and set off from their offices  in Salford Quays on Friday, July 23rd. See the photographs on our Flickr page.

From there, they drive to the Czech Republic for the official start of the rally and embark on the 10,000 mile adventure driving across three deserts and five mountain ranges through Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan to the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Matthew said: "We're very happy that the planning we've been doing for the last six months has come to an end and that we're now ready to go. We're really looking forward to it.

"The AA won't be able to help us if we break-down past Dover, so it's going to be a big challenge and we just hope we can make it in such a short space of time."

Most teams on the rally will take about six weeks to complete the journey, but Matthew and Scott are aiming to be back in three weeks driving for 12 to 14 hours a day at times across the vast strecthes of landscapes with few roads or maps.

Their vehicle of choice is an ambulance, provided by Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team. It has been fitted with a tracking device, which will be linked to a website so family and friends can keep track of their progress, and they will also be keeping in touch through their Twitter page.

Once they arrive in Mongolia, the ambulance will be donated to the Mongolian health service so medical aid can get to families living in the hard-to-reach areas.