A RACING driver from Carnforth battled against 40 competitors in a gruelling 12-hour endurance contest at the weekend on his lawn mower.

Andy Little took his Webb 24-inch cylinder mower down to Sussex to see if he could cut it in the biggest annual event on the British Lawn Mower Racing Association's calendar.

Andy (pictured) is currently top of his class in the BLMRA season which started in May and ends in October.

But he has not yet received confirmation of his place in the 12-hour race.

"We did not come first, but we did complete the full 12 hours which was a result in itself," says the 39-year-old.

Andy drove his mower the type often seen on bowling greens at an average speed of 50mph in the event.

"The track could have been specially designed to break a racing mower. The main straight was over 500 metres long, which resulted in several blown engines," he says.

"All the bends ran across old plough lines, and soon became incredibly rough going."

Andy teamed up with three other drivers to make the going a little easier, especially through the night.

They were hampered with a number of mechanical failures during the first half of the race but managed to get the machine back out on the track.

The delivery driver from King Street says he was first attracted to lawn mower racing after seeing it on television.

"I thought these people were barmy but then decided it would be fun to have a go and so I started creating my own custom-built lawn mowers," he says.

"I now race every weekend during the season and we normally get a quite a crowd."

He adds: "People think I'm a lunatic doing it until they see it for themselves. Until then they picture a couple of blokes pushing a hover mower around."

* The BLMRA was founded in 1973 by a bunch of enthusiasts bemoaning the ever-increasing costs of motor sports. It gained almost overnight success.