Shed on wheels reaches record time

A man who built and drove his own shed has broken the speed record, according to timings made at the event.

Brian Cade, from Oxford, constructed the wooden vehicle named Ed the Shed, and reached a speed of 123 mph (198 km/h) at Elvington Airfield, in Yorkshire, over the weekend.

The previous record was set by fellow Oxfordshire-based engineer Kevin Nicks who clocked 106 mph (171 km/h) at the same airfield in September 2020.

Mr Cade told the BBC: "I'm really chuffed for Ed. There's probably billions of sheds in the world and he's one of only three to have cleared himself out of rusty bikes, lawnmowers and unwanted presents, bolted on a TVR with a big V8, and dared to dream."

Ed the Shed has a 4.5 litre V8 engine that can produce 360 brake horsepower.

In a previous attempt last month Mr Cade and Ed only managed to achieve 96 mph (154 km/h) before his clutch gave way.

He said: "The first time I went it was a bit difficult as I hadn't done it before.

"The lack of experience meant I burnt the clutch out. But this time I was better prepared and knew what I was doing so I didn't have that complication, so it was a fun day."

During the challenge Ed the Shed's speedometer did not work, leaving Mr Cade unsure if he had set a new record.

"I could judge speed from the rev counter but basically I went flat out," he explained.

"I thought the car could go faster but that's clearly as fast as it wants to go with the current horsepower and the weight of the shed.

"I knew I'd got faster, but I only knew [I broke the record] when I actually got out the car.

"It was great. I started building it at the start of the year and it's quite a lot of effort surprisingly, and it's incredibly fast - it's twice the speed of a motorway, but you've got nothing to hit which is good."

Mr Cade said he had been inspired to undergo the challenge by the former BBC programme Record Breakers.

Alongside the shed itself Mr Cade has also written a book and created a cartoon character inspired by the Three Little Pigs tale.

In doing so, he is hoping to raise funds for the charity Reach, which provides support for children and young people with an upper limb difference.

Mr Cade is now submitting the results to Guinness World Records. The BBC has contacted Guinness for comment.

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