world's fastest snail

  

"Ready, steady, slow!" - Sidney the snail stormed to victory at the World Snail Racing Championship in Norfolk.

He beat off stiff competition over the 13-inch course to win a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce.

The event at Congham near King's Lynn has been running for nearly 40 years, and although there are a number of imitations it's the only recognised World Championship.

This year's winner belongs to 62-year-old Claire Lawrence, from Litcham in Norfolk, and crossed the line in three minutes 41 seconds.

"I'm shell shocked my mum has won, as it's the first time she has entered," her son Harry Lawrence told Rex.

"She selected Sidney a couple of days ago and she has been training him in our garden and feeding him on a diet of rocket salad."

The world record stands at two minutes and was set by a snail called Archie in 1995. Unfortunately this year's windy conditions meant times were much slower than usual.