The man who rode the fastest toilet in the West

9th of June 2014
The man who rode the fastest toilet in the West

Travelling at speeds of 70.9 miles (114 kilometres) an hour, a motorised toilet devised by two Englishmen in a pub has set a new world land speed record.

Pensioner Trevor Duckworth and 55-year-old Shaun Walker from Brighouse, Yorkshire, came up with the idea of the high-speed toilet over a pint. They then drew the initial sketches of their creation on the back of a beer mat.

The record-breaking design comprised a go-cart that had been converted to accommodate a lavatory bowl, with handlebars in place of the steering wheel. The toilet took around two months to build and the world land speed record for a motorised toilet was broken in a single attempt at Elvington Airfield near York.

"We're absolutely delighted, jumping up and down," said Duckworth. "It's been absolutely brilliant." Duckworth, 69, has been building machines for racing from his garden shed for more than 50 years and has broken 21 world and 28 British national records.

Shaun Walker was the man who actually rode the toilet and was cheered on by enthusiastic spectators. The previous record was set in Milan, Italy, in 2011 when a motorcycle and sidecar hidden beneath a bathtub, sink and laundry bin travelled at speeds of 42.25 mph (68 kmh).

Canadian Jolene Van Vugt made a new attempt in 2012, but despite reaching a speed of 46mph (75km/h) her attempt never made it to the record books.

Duckworth and Walker now aim to hold on to their record. In fact Duckworth is already planning to build the world's first toilet to break the 100mph barrier.

 

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