Man breaks world record for riding down river... in a pumpkin!

Duane Hansen has broken the Guinness World Record for riding 38 miles in a pumpkin

A man from Nebraska in the United States has broken a world record for riding down a river in a giant pumpkin!

Duane Hansen, who was celebrating his 60th birthday, hollowed out a pumpkin he'd been growing for 10 years, and used it to make a 38-mile trip down the Missouri River.

Directing the pumpkin - which he'd named Berta - with rowing oars, Mr Hansen floated down the river and claimed the world record six hours into his 11 hour journey.

The previous record (yes, this has been done before) was held by Rick Swenson, who paddled 25.5 miles from Grand Forks, North Dakota down the Red River to Breckenridge, Minnesota in 2016.

Mr Hansen sat inside the pumpkin, and he even carved a little cup holder for when he got thirsty during the journey

Having set off at 7.30am in the morning, Hansen passed the 25.5 mile world record mark at 2.52pm and kept on rowing for 12 more miles, eventually coming to a stop at 6.30pm.

"I probably won't try this again," said Mr Hansen, who kneeled upright inside the pumpkin for the entire journey.

"I went 38 miles down the river without standing up in that pumpkin, my knees still hurt!

"If somebody breaks this record, I will bow down to them because they are tough."

Friends and family took photos and videos to document his journey to prove the record had been broken.

"I was no way near 100% [sure] I could do this, I've never been in a pumpkin going down the river," says Mr Hansen.

Guinness World Records requires a number of pieces of evidence, including pictures, videos, and statements from witnesses to make the record official.

Despite the garden-grown giant pumpkin, weighing 384kg - about one-and-a-half times as heavy as a pig - it floated perfectly down the river.

"I thought what a cool thing to do with giant pumpkin," Mr Hansen added.