AN eccentric 55-year-old hopes to have raced himself to a new world record for having the world’s fastest wheelbarrow after it topped 36mph during a speed test.

Kevin Nicks raced his “bonkers” three-wheeler down a stretch of airfield last weekend during one of the most unusual motorsport events in the country.

The whacky racer, who currently holds the record for driving the world’s fastest shed, drove the vehicle named the “Barrow of Speed”, at Elvington Airfield, near York.

The event, organised by ‘Straightliners’, invited 20 ‘speed heads’ to the airfield to try to smash top speed records of various conventional and unconventional motors.

The thrill seeker said he felt like he was going to die as a gust of wind nearly threw him off the machine but he managed to clock a top speed of 36mph - the fastest a wheelbarrow has ever gone.

The custom-built wheelbarrow is powered by an old Honda moped which has been fitted to the back.

Kevin has already contacted Guinness about confirming his World Record and hopes to have his record soon.

Kevin, who from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, said: “No one has ever done something like this before - no wheelbarrow has flown down at the speeds I was going.

“It’s thrilling and absolutely bonkers to drive it - but it felt amazing.

“It was a bit breezy on the runway with the wind really trying to kill me - but that’s all part of the fun.

“You get an adrenaline rush, it’s simply fantastic.”

It didn’t cost Kevin any money to build as he used scraps he had available in his house.

He began to build the speedy vehicle just a couple of weeks into lockdown and took roughly 12 days to complete it.

The dad-of-one said: “We’ve been in this horrible lockdown and I’ve spoken to friends who are really struggling with their mental health.

“I thought if my friends are struggling I’m sure a lot of people in this country are feeling the same way.

“I wondered what I could do in my little way to help.

“And the one thing I know how to do is make things that shouldn’t go fast, go very fast.

“I like being creative and thinking out of the box.

“I want people to go out and build something. I’ve purposely set my budget for this at zero because you can build anything with whatever you have at your disposal.

“Considering it’s made out of scraps I think it turned out absolutely brilliantly.”

He says he had tested the wheelbarrow a few times in the parking lot but never raced it down at these mind boggling speeds.

The gardener added: “A lot of people call me eccentric but maybe people are just boring because I think I’m normal.

“I just want to have fun and I want everyone to have fun as well.”

Kevin also holds another speed world record after driving a shed, which he used to commute to the airfield at the weekend, at 101.581mph in 2017.