A blind adventurer climbed behind the wheel of a car for the first time in two years today and raced to more than 170mph as he began training to break a land speed record.

Steve Cunningham, 41, took the helm of a Mercedes SL sports car with a professional racer for company and steered his way round to the runway at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire before putting his foot to the floor and accelerating to a top speed of 175mph.

Later this month he plans to return with a Ferrari 355 GT to try to break 180mph barrier - but it may not be his own record that he will be out to beat.

Today around 40 sighted motor racing fans donned taped-up helmets and reached speeds as high as 177mph - far in excess of his old record of 144.2mph - as they began training for their own solo 'blind' record attempt to raise funds for charity.

Mr Cunningham of Banbury, Oxfordshire, whose own challenge is raising funds for his Blind Vision charity said after his run: ''It felt good. I certainly couldn't have gone any faster today.