Girl, 8, denied dead hang world record due to age

Helena has been playing on monkey bars since she was three years old

An eight-year-old girl who believes she has set a new world record for hanging from monkey bars has been told she is too young for her achievement to be officially recognised.

Helena, from Leeds, recorded herself dangling from a climbing frame for more than 35 minutes, breaking the previous record for a female "dead hang" of exactly 12 minutes.

However, Guinness World Records have rejected her application, saying under-16s are unable to attempt it because of its "highly physically demanding" nature.

Helena's family and her local MP have both called on the organisation to re-think their ruling.

Helena's mother, Nafiseh, said: "It's not fair that she's been disqualified without any good reason.

"She's worked so hard for the record and it's what she deserves.

"Since she was born she's been extraordinarily strong."

Helena's mother, Nafiseh, says her daughter "deserves" recognition from Guinness World Records.

Helena has been using monkey bars since the age of three, when her parents bought her and her twin sister, Nicola, a climbing frame for their back garden.

Her parents said when Guinness World Records first gave them information on how to submit evidence of Helena's record-breaking attempt, the company made no mention of an age limit.

Only when they sent off the footage of their daughter breaking the record were they told she was too young.

Helena said she particularly enjoyed monkey bars when the "frame is wobbly", because that is when it is more "challenging".

"When I found out it was something I could do really well, that's when I wanted to break the record," she said.

"I'd be really excited if they said 'yes'."

The family's MP, Fabian Hamilton, has written to Guinness World Records to support Helena's claim.

Fabian Hamilton said he believed Guinness World Records had "made a mistake"

Mr Hamilton, the Labour MP for Leeds North East, told the BBC: "Nowhere on their site does it say this particular gymnastic achievement has to be achieved by over-16s.

"This young girl has worked incredibly hard and she's really put a lot of effort into it.

"I think they've clearly made a mistake."

A spokesperson for Guinness World Records said: "The record was disqualified due to her age, the guidelines for this record states that any attempt deemed to be highly physically demanding, at the discretion of GWR, is not permitted to be attempted by under-16s.

"For this reason, we were unable to approve the record on this occasion."

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