A HUGE cheer from drinkers greeted the moment the world record for the longest game of darts was broken after a non-stop marathon at an Oxford pub.

The Ampleforth Arms, Collin- wood Road, Risinghurst, reverberated as John Goble threw the last dart of the incredible feat, which began, exactly where it ended, in front of the pub darts board, seven days and 16 hours before.

Shattered, but happy, John and fellow new world record holder John Penman hugged each other before cracking open the champagne.

They could now celebrate after the hardest week of their lives, which they spent throwing dart after dart, hour after hour, non-stop from Saturday to Saturday.

The other winner was the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF).

The charity will be £50,000 better off following the Oxford Johns' success, which was underpinned by volunteers, who gave up time to help see them through.

Mr Penman, 46, a parking attendant from Blackbird Leys, broke his own previous world record which he set in Leicester in 1989. He said this time round, things were harder.

He said: "If it wasn't for the landlord Mike Pearce, I would never have finished. On Tuesday, my arm was in a sling after I quite badly damaged it. The pain was really quite bad, but he gave me massages and it got me through.

"This one was bigger than before. Everybody worked together to pull each other through. The backing we had was great and I want to thank everyone. "I'm relieved it's over and now I just hope we've raised a lot of money."

Mr Goble, 30, bar manager at the pub, said: "I'm very tired and just relieved to have finished. I jumped at the chance to take part and it's all been worth it. The thing that will make it more worthwhile will be when we find out how much we've raised.

"We went through a stage when I said I can't go on, but people just kept me going. We've even had them coming in at 4am or 5am to see us."

Mr Pearce said: "I had every confidence in them both - there was no way they were going to fail.

"They've done a fantastic job and everyone seems to have had good fun in what is a serious business. I'm also pleased for Risinghurst, because the whole community has supported them." Jess Higginbottom, appeals executive for the ICRF, said: "It defies belief that anyone would want to do this for such a long time. Cancer research is vital and for people to put such an effort in to raise money for it is very heart-warming."

The event took the men, Mr Pearce and ex-nurse Marian Hill, 42, four months to plan.

Behind-the-scenes work saw dozens of letters going out to football clubs across the country and in Europe as well as rugby clubs, basketball teams, darts teams, politicians, TV stars and local VIPs.

The work was met with a huge response from clubs including FA Cup finalists Arsenal and Newcastle which both sent memorabilia as did West Ham United, Spain's top club Real Madrid and Oxford United, which donated a ball and a team shirt for an auction after the darts match.

Celebrities turned up too to offer their support including snooker stars Willie Thorne and Alan McManus, West Ham footballer Julian Dicks and darts players Leighton Rees and Andy Fordham all visited the pub to urge the men on.

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