Wiltshire fundraiser forced to stop world record van pull attempt because of potholes
Watch Mike take on the challenge (Credit: Roadhawk & Danny Purnell)
A fundraiser from Wiltshire who was trying to break the world record for pulling a van the furthest distance in 24 hours has been forced to halt his attempt because of potholes.
Mike Land, from Swindon, pulled a 1.5-tonne Vauxhall Combo for nine hours at RAF Down Ampney before being advised to stop.
He pulled the vehicle for 10.5 miles and was on track to beat the current record held by James Baker, who pulled a van 32 miles in 24 hours over flat ground.
The 54-year-old is hoping to complete the challenge in future and is aiming to raise £12,000 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
He said: "The final venue of the pull was a World War Two airfield only used for three years so it’s been dormant since 1947.
"I saw the airfield about five or six months ago and it looked pretty good to me at the time.
"I think with the weather and the rain that we’ve had over the past six months, the airfield has changed it a lot.
"But I was determined to do it, I wanted this challenge to be done because we had a target to raise which was £12,000, because that is what it costs to run the Wiltshire Air Ambulance every day.
"We did go ahead but I was warned by a surveyor that it would be tough going.
"It was my longest pull to date and we’ve been doing lots of pull testers and I ended up doing two miles in 41 minutes which would’ve been a good pace to be on track to break the world record.
"You could call this a very good nine-hour testing stage but I wish we could’ve gone a bit further but the potholes broke me in the end".
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Mike has been fundraising for charities for decades after initially suffering injuries from a freak accident during a bungee jump in 1993.
As a student in Swindon, the bungee rope snapped during his jump - the sixth time this incident ever happened in the UK.
After the accident, Mike started running and eventually took part in 10ks, half-marathons, and marathons - including dressing up as Captain America for a run in Berlin.
He said: “It was just my way of getting back to the doctors who said after my accident that I probably wouldn’t have a manual job and enjoy sport.
"I’ve been enjoying sport for the last 20 years".
Mike is determined to complete the challenge and said “the record is for the taking".
He said: "There are so many friends and people that I know in the area that have been affected and have had an interaction with the Wiltshire Air Ambulance who helped them out.
"So I thought it was a great way of giving back to this part of the community".
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