A pensioner is set to burn rubber at Brands Hatch - on a mobility scooter!

Following in the tyre tracks of such Formula One greats as Nigel Mansell, Rita Turner, 79, will be using a very different kind of horsepower - named The Rascal.

Daredevil Rita is supporting the EllenorLions Hospice cycling event after they helped her look after her sister Gwenda Voysey.

She said: “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have been able to care for my sister at home.

“They were absolutely brilliant. I had nurses coming in all the time and was able to spend quality time with her.”

After her sister’s death eight years ago, Rita, of Oliver Crescent, Farningham, volunteered for EllenorLions and taught patients how to decorate goose eggs.

It’s not her first fundraiser – she completed a tandem skydive (pictured below) when she was 76 to raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Rita, who has a sticker saying “The Rascal” on her scooter, is looking forward to today’s challenge.

Her maroon scooter tops out at 8mph and she is hoping to complete several laps of the 1.2 mile Indy Circuit.

She said: “I used to be a bus driver and took people from Swanley to Brands Hatch. I always thought to myself, 'Wouldn’t it be nice to go round Brands Hatch on the bus?

“Now I am getting to fulfil my dream on my scooter, although it would be even better if I could go round in a flashy sports car.”