Sandcastle world record attempt on Bournemouth beach fails

An attempt on Bournemouth beach to break the world record for the most sandcastles built in an hour has failed by being just five structures short.

The current record, set at Scarborough beach in August, stands at 683.

The Big Sandcastle Build, organised to mark the 21st anniversary of the Big Issue Magazine, was held on Bournemouth beach on Saturday.

Although the 250 people taking part built more than 683 castles, only 678 were verified as being tall enough.

Each sandcastle had to be 2ft wide and 2ft tall (60cm by 60cm) and have four turrets, to be approved by the verifiers.

Moira Hornik, spokeswoman for the charity, said: "The target we had to beat was 683 castles.

"Frustratingly, although we did build more than that some weren't tall enough so we missed out on the record of most castles built in an hour by five.

"But it gives us something to aim for next year and all of the 250 castle builders had a great time."

All money raised went to the the Big Issue Foundation and will go towards helping homeless people rebuild their lives.