PICTURED: Keith proudly shows off his new set of wheels while wife Darryl toasts his bid to become the fastest motorist to drive around Britain.

A CAR-crazy licensee is set to fulfil a driving ambition by travelling around Great Britain in a car which he has built himself from scratch.

Keith Darlington, who runs The Clock Face pub in Clock Face Road with wife Darryl, has been piecing together the small, but perfectly-formed bright red Lotus in his spare time for the last six months.

The father-of-three, who has no previous mechanical training, told the Star: "I used a stripped-down Escort engine, gear box and back axle but everything else was done from scratch, including the chassis, body panels and suspension components."

The venture became a lot more expensive than he originally anticipated. He added: "I first got the idea at last year's Isle of Man TT Races where I started reading a book which said you could put a car together for £250. I estimated that I could do it for between £750 and £1,000 but in the end, I spent around £1,200." The rising costs didn't deter him though and the finished car has now been passed safe to drive.

Keith is now planning a charity run later this year but can't decide whether to follow the coastal road around the country or travel from Land's End to John O'Groats.

He said: "I'm going to leave it until after summer because the roads are too full before then. I'm definitely going to raise some money for charity but I can't decide which run to do yet. I read an old edition of the Guinness Book of Records which said that someone had travelled 3,500 miles around the coast in 97-and-a-half hours so if that record still stands, I may try to break it."

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