AN engineering lecturer from a Suffolk college today told of his Sahara adventure after travelling more than 4,500 miles across the famous desert in a Peugeot 205.

AN engineering lecturer from a Suffolk college today told of his Sahara adventure after travelling more than 4,500 miles across the famous desert in a Peugeot 205.

Thrill-seeking Michael Cleverley had initially planned to travel from France to Dakar but was warned against the trip because of the current troubles in Mauritania.

Instead, the Otley College lecturer hit the road in his yellow two-wheel drive Peugeot as a competitor in the Morocco Off Road Challenge.

His car was readied for the challenge with the help of brother-in-law Peter Austin and BTEC engineering students from Otley College.

The draining off-road adventure took three weeks and involved crossing demanding sandy terrain.

On the first leg of the journey, the 38-year-old averaged just nine miles-an-hour.

In a bid to endear himself to the locals, Mr Cleverley was advised to take pens and first aid kits, which he dished out along his journey.

Mr Cleverley, from Fressingfield, said: “This really was an amazing adventure.

“There are too many highlights to mention but New Year's Eve in Fez was a great experience and the food throughout was amazing.

“One of the most bizarre requests was to be offered five camels for the car - I declined.

“I will be doing a variety of talks at college as part of our on going enrichment programme with the aim of trying to inspire learners by talking about this wonderful adventure.”

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