Guinness World Records 2011

One of the prestigious entries in the Guinness World Records 2011 is sprightly pensioner Reg Alexander, of Darlington.

At the age of 78 and 306 days he is officially the oldest person to conquer Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro.

Meanwhile, Ian Purvis, of Sunderland, took on an unusual challenge to claim a spot in the record books by eating 236 sweetcorn kernels in three minutes – using a cocktail stick.

And Fred Charlton, of Peterlee, in east Durham, grew a 8.1kg leek, the weight of two new born babies, and the heaviest gooseberry record, weighing in at a whopping 62.01 grammes – eight times larger than a average – was grown by Bryan Nellist, of Whitby.

The North-East’s final record breaker goes to Nick Marshall, of Newcastle, who managed to eat 27 meatballs in a minute.

Elsewhere across the UK, people have come up with equally unusual ways to make themselves record breakers, including the largest collection of Smurf memorabilia with 1,061 different items, the oldest wing walker at the age of 89 and the largest commercially available English breakfast, which includes six bacon rashers, six sausages, four eggs, six slices of bread, five black puddings, mushrooms, a can of beans and tomatoes, and weighs an average of 2.917kg.

Organisers hope this year’s collection of records will inspire people to come up with even more unusual ways to get themselves in the next edition.

Guinness World Records (GWR) editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said: “The Brits are renowned the world over for their eccentricity and we’ve proved that this year in GWR 2011.

“We’ve got record breaking soap collectors, body piercers, belchers and weightlifters who use only their tongues.

“But not all our Brits have odd talents – look at inspirational record holders such as Simon Cowell, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Sir Tom Jones, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Richard Noble, even Doctor Who. All world beaters.

Britain has a lot to be proud of.”

... and if you think they’re a bit crazy...

■ John Evans, of London, has the record for the heaviest car balanced on his head after he balanced a 159.6kg Mini for 33 seconds.

■ Dan Magness achieved the longest time spent controlling a football when he spent 24 hours showing off his ball skills in London, on April 30, last year.

■ Paul Hunn achieved the record for the loudest burp at 107.1db – nearly as noisy as a road drill – on The New Paul O’Grady Show, on September 24, 2008.

■ Ken Edwards, of Derbyshire, ate 36 cockroaches in one minute on The Big Breakfast, on March 5, 2001.

■ David Morgan, of Burford, Oxfordshire, entered the record books in 2000 with his collection of 137 different traffic cones.