Students hitch in race to Denmark

A group of students and a polar bear are hitting the road to hitch 1000 miles to Denmark.

The 59 students want to raise £3000 to help some of the world's poorest people in Bangladesh and Nepal. In a bid to collect the amount, they will trust the mercy of strangers to get them to Copenhagen for the UN Conference of Climate Change.

A team of 29 students, together with a ‘polar bear’, all members of Liverpool University Oxfam Society, will set off from Merseyside and 30 students will leave from Manchester. The students are divided into teams of two and three, with at least one male in each group. Participants will finance their insurance themselves.

Rebecca Mortby, 21, one the Liverpool hitchhikers, said: “We are trying to raise awareness of the environmental issues, and collect money for the nations already affected by the climate change. Ironically, poor communities of Nepal or Bangladesh produce no carbon footprint, yet they are the ones losing their homes."

Miss Mortby sees hitchhiking as an environmental-friendly form of travelling, but foresees some potential obstacles.

She said: “If I’m worried we will struggle to find a hostel, or be left alone on the side of a road when it gets dark, I plan on packing a torch and a sleeping bag. If we travel at night we will take turns to sleep. So much for the safety precautions!"

Miss Mortby added: “However, I think we will be fine. I heard the hitchhiking tradition is quite strong in continental Europe.”

The group leaves Liverpool on December 9th and will be waved off by city council members. The students expect to brave the distance in three days, as the UN conference takes place on December 12th.

The Liverpool and Manchester teams will be racing each other, getting a lift through four countries in the shortest possible time. After reaching Copenhagen they will join a demonstration against the environmental pollution. The conference has been dubbed the most important meeting in the history of humankind.