A giant ball made out of rubber bands has clinched a place in the record books, subject to ratification, after a weigh-in at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

The ball - built by Tony Evans from Swansea - weighed in at 2,524 lbs, squashing the previous figure of 2,450lbs.

However, the record still has to be officially certified by the Guinness World Records.

"I know the record is there for the taking and it's right that the world's biggest rubber band ball should be rolled out where the biggest ball games in Wales are played," Mr Evans said.

Six million bands

The full-time foster carer constructed the Welsh Millennium Ball using rubber bands donated from across the UK.

He estimates over six million bands have been used to make the ball, which has a circumference of 14ft 8ins and stands 4ft 5in tall.

The 53-year-old said the ball, which he keeps beside his house, has attracted a lot of attention.

"People are always stopping by the gate when I'm working on the ball and talking to me about it," he said.

"I can't believe the size of it sometimes. It has grown beyond belief."

Family hobby

Mr Evans and his wife Elizabeth have been fostering children for around eight years.

"Every child that comes here wants to build a rubber band ball," he said.

"There are now several smaller balls around the house."

Mr Evans admitted that the hobby has taken up a lot of his spare time.

"I used to be making the ball seven to eight hours a day.

"When the hobby started, I made it in the house," he said.

Rubber band ball enthusiasts have taken to the web

"But my wife was so fed up of there being rubber bands all over the place, she banished me to the shed."

The ball was transported from Swansea to the stadium on Thursday and rolled on to the pitch where Mr Evans put the finishing bands in place.

It was weighed and by an expert from Plane Weighs from Swansea.

Photographic and video evidence will now be sent to for ratification to Guinness World Records so they can confirm the record.

And Mr Evans is not alone. There is a small and growing community of rubber band ball builders on the web, from as far afield as Hawaii and Ohio, all sharing tips.

Most enthusiasts are keen to take rubber band donations from contributors.

But Mr Evans' ball dwarves one of its nearest rivals - a 10,000-band, 2ft 6ins US version nicknamed "the biggest waste of office supplies in New Jersey".