Christchurch gardener's lawn mowing record bid

Jody Fassinger is mowing laps around Kings Park Athletic Centre in Bournemouth

A gardener is aiming to set a new record for the longest distance pushing a lawnmower in 24 hours.

Jody Fassinger, from Christchurch, Dorset, began his attempt, mowing laps around Kings Park Athletic Centre, Bournemouth, at 07:30 GMT.

He hopes to cover at least 41 km (25 miles), with the bid raising money for Julia's House Children's Hospice.

There is no current Guinness World Record for the attempt by an individual.

The longest distance by a team of four is 162.936 km (101.2 miles) and was set by members of the Stowmarket and District Round Table in Suffolk in 1997.

Mr Fassinger, who is head gardener at Hants and Dorset Gardening Services, will send evidence of his attempt to Guinness World Records to verify.

In order to qualify the engine must continue running for the full 24 hours, he said.

"Because it's just in a circle, once I've done that first stripe I'm just mowing air really," he added.