Wheely fast: Gardener ‘sets speed record’ of 44.6mph on wheelbarrow

Kevin Nicks built the Barrow of Speed during lockdown
PA
Ellena Cruse17 August 2020

A gardener from Oxfordshire says he has set a speed record by travelling at 44.6mph on the back of a wheelbarrow.

Kevin Nicks, 55, from Chipping Norton, built the Barrow of Speed during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.

Using it, he recorded the speed, equivalent to 72km/h, at a Straightliners event at Elvington Airfield, North Yorkshire.

Mr Nicks previously set the land speed record for a motorised shed at an event in 2018.

Kevin Nicks sets a speed record of 44.632 mph, the fastest time ever officially recorded on a wheelbarrow
PA

“I’m here with people who do over 200mph on motorbikes and they’ve all said this machine is insane,” he said.

“It’s the most bizarre thing ever to ride – the handles of the wheelbarrow move in all directions.

“Every journey on it is not just going fast in a straight line, you’re trying to avoid crashing, which is great! The adrenaline rush is unbelievable.”

The time was recorded at a Straightliners event at Elvington Airfield, North Yorkshire
PA

Mr Nicks’ record is yet to be verified by Guinness World Records, who set him a base speed to beat of 42.5mph, but Straightliners are experts in land speed records and confirmed his speed.

He will drive the Barrow of Speed again in six weeks time for Guinness World Records, where he believes it can go faster still.

“As long as it doesn’t kill me, I’ll have set the Guinness record,” he said.

He previously set a land speed record in a shed
PA

Mr Nicks previously created the world’s fastest shed, the Fastest Shed, which hit speeds of more than 100mph on a Welsh beach in 2018.

Mr Nicks said he built the souped-up wheelbarrow to inspire others to be creative and distract them from bad news surrounding the pandemic.

“I can’t change the world but what I can do is try to make it better for some people,” he said.

The shed broke the 100mph mark
PA

“For me, it’s rewarding to see the smiles on people’s faces.”

Asked what he plans to add to his collection of inventions next, Mr Nicks said: “Oh I have plans – my next build is really bonkers.

“Not hugely fast, but bonkers.”

Mr Nicks made a smaller version of the Fastest Shed, called Freddy the Sheddy, for children, for which he has also published a children’s book.

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