IS this the worlds fastest wheelbarrow?

Gardener Kevin Nicks is hoping his 36mph machine will set a new global record and cheer up Britain.

The 55-year-old set the possible record at a special event for speed machines at Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire.

Mr Nicks built the flying wheelbarrow during lockdown from bits of scrap in his garage and, while this was a new venture, he does have history in unusual machines – Mr Nicks, from Chipping Norton, already holds the record for the World's Fastest Shed set at Elvington in 2017 when he achieved a mind boggling speed of 101 miles per hour.

The father-of-one did admit the 'Barrow of Speed' as it is known is not easy to drive, after a strong gust of wind nearly blew him and his machine off the runway.

He added :”It’s thrilling and absolutely bonkers to drive it, but it felt amazing.

“It was a bit breezy on the runway with the wind really trying to kill me, but that’s all part of the fun. You get an adrenaline rush, it’s simply fantastic.

“We’ve been in this horrible lockdown and I’ve spoken to friends who are really struggling with their mental health. I thought if my friends are struggling I’m sure a lot of people in this country are feeling the same way.

“I wondered what I could do in my little way to help. I want people to go out and build something. I purposely set my budget for this at zero because you can build anything with whatever you have at your disposal.

“Considering it’s made out of scraps I think it turned out absolutely brilliantly. A lot of people call me eccentric but maybe people are just boring because I think I’m normal. I just want to have fun and I want everyone else to have fun as well.”

Kevin made the flying wheelbarrow with an old Honda moped he had in his garage and a home made wheelbarrow.

The event at Elvington airfield near York, was run by Straightliners who invited 20 speed heads from around the country to try to smash top speed records which had been set for various conventional and unconventional motors.

Kevin reckons no one has ever attained these kinds of speeds on a wheelbarrow before and has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records to ratify it. He is currently waiting for their answer while pondering what the next outlandish speed machine could be that he can conjure up.