A VIDEO of a Valleys motor fitter being soaked in 30 litres of engine oil has gone viral on social media and raised more than £1,000 for charity.

Colin Meyrick, a contracted fitter at Coopers Car Sales in Ystrad Mynach and runs his own business Autotec in Aberbargoed, took the soaking after an evening's conversation in the pub about the charity "Ice Bucket Challenge" craze.

The video, recorded on August 23, has since gathered more than 18,000 likes, 59,000 shares and half a million views on Facebook, as well as almost 8,500 extra views on YouTube.

It shows Mr Meyrick, 46, from Llanhilleth standing in a box and being doused in engine oil by sales manager Luke Davies, 28, and Lewys Phillips, 28, who owns Coopers Car Sales.

Mr Phillips said he was at the pub with Mr Meyrick, who lost his mother to cancer earlier this year, and Mr Davies the day before.

"I made a comment that I'd give £300 to charity to see Colin do the challenge with oil," said Mr Phillips, who has owned the business for four years.

"Other people offered to give £50 or £20. In Aberbargoed we raised £700, in Markham we raised £150 and more than £400 in Abertillery, all in one night. From saying it to doing it was about 16 hours."

The cash, which included donations from Llanhilleth, will go towards Cancer Research in memory of Mr Myrick's mother Maver, said Mr Phillips.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which has been taken up online across the world, sees friends nominate one another to be soaked in iced water in a bid to raise money to research motor neurone disease.