Charity world-record attempt halted due to potholes

A man, who survived a bungee-jumping accident, halted his world-record attempt after pulling a 1.5-tonne van for nine hours.

Mike Land, from Swindon, pulled the vehicle for 10.5 miles (13km) but needed to beat 32 miles (51.5km) in 24 hours over flat ground.

He started the attempt at Down Ampney airfield on 4 October but had to stop on Saturday when potholes on the airfield became too challenging.

Mr Land, who is raising money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said he will look for a new venue to try again.

Doctors feared Mr Land would never make a full recovery when he fractured his pelvis after his bungee jump rope snapped in 1993, but has completed numerous challenges since and works as a fitness instructor and designer.

He has been training for the world-record attempt for months and had hoped to tackle the van-pull sooner, but found it difficult to locate a suitable venue.

To qualify the location must be level with a 1:1 gradient and have some degree of public access, and former RAF base Down Ampney airfield met the criteria set by Guinness World Records.

But after nine hours of pulling the van he said: “The lumps and bumps beat me – even though I got down on my hands and knees to pull it out of a few potholes, I just couldn’t maintain it.

“I feel great that I’ve got that far.”

This is not the end though as Mr Land will search for a flatter venue, with “conversations” going with companies who might be able to help.

He is keeping his donation page up to update on his progress and has already reached more than £11,000 of his £12,000 target, which is equivalent to the daily cost it takes to run the Wiltshire Air Ambulance service.