VIDEO: Thurlby pensioner Carolyn Corliss embraces a Middle Earth theme from Lord of the Rings as she prepares to take part in the Fireball Monte Carlo Rally in a £250 Nissan Primera with a Smaug dragon sculpture on top

A Middle-Earth themed banger topped with a dragon has been spotted driving around the streets of Thurlby.

The unusual sight is all part of a pensioner's latest plan to raise money for a charity close to her heart.

Carolyn Corliss is preparing to take part in the Fireball Monte Carlo Rally which will see her travel across eight European countries in a 1999 Nissan Primera.

The 76-year-old is no stranger to racing having completed the Scumrun last year in the same vehicle which she picked up for £250.

She said: "I'm quite keen on motor events. I used to do a bit of racing and I'm still game for it now, although my brothers think I'm absolutely loopy.

“With the Fireball name, we had to have a dragon and the first one we could think of was Smaug.

"From there it snowballed into a Middle Earth theme which should be a lot of fun."

Carolyn, of High Street, Thurlby, will dress as Belladonna Took Baggins. Her team-mates Richard Gumsley and her nephew Chris Gamble will be dressed as Gandalf and Frodo.

As a keen artist Carolyn took on the task of decorating the car herself and created a six foot dragon's body from chicken wire, fibreglass and expanded polyurethane.

It is topped off with a dragon head she bought from eBay.

The team will set off on May 22 for the week-long challenge.

The route will take them through France, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Carolyn said: "I'm really looking forward to crossing the Stelvio Pass in Italy. It's spectacular.

"I just hope the car will get us there."

Carolyn hopes to raise £2,000 for Action Medical Research.

The charity funds research into conditions including premature birth, epilepsy, asthma, scarlet fever, cerebral palsy and brain cancer.

Carolyn will start her fundraising this weekend with an appearance at Truckfest in Peterborough tomorrow and Sunday.

She said: “Very few people have heard of Action so I’m honoured to be able to take on such a fun challenge to not only help raise funds but also a bit of awareness for them too."

To sponsor Carolyn and her team visit her Just Giving page here.