The final frontier

Anyone out strolling around the seaside resort Southport over the Easter break may have come across the astonishing site of a gaggle of lawyers dressed as visitors from outer space (below and right).

No, your eyes were not deceiving you; it was their annual hitch-hike to raise money for child victims of Chernobyl.

Seemingly oblivious to the irony, partner Graham Riley (below, left) of Graham M Riley & Co, described the people of Crosston as 'strange'.

Locals would mysteriously disappear when the aliens descended on their usually quiet watering holes.

Crosston is a particularly affluent area: 'They kept trying to run us over in their bloody Lamborghinis,' Mr Riley complained.

But at least the motley crew avoided a brush with the law.

Last year's hitch-hike nearly ended in disaster when, dressed in military garb, they hit upon the bright idea of setting up a checkpoint, where members of the group dressed as French waitresses collected cash from the cars.

This caused a four-mile tailback.

When the police turned up, the gang legged it into a pub.

They were let off when the long arm of the law eventually tracked them down.

Mr Riley said all went well this year, but admits it is all a bit hazy after the eighth pub: 'After that I can't remember a damn thing.'