BY day Helen Loney is a chartered surveyor – but in her free time she’s a champion power boater.

And Helen, 27, has just broken two British records on Coniston Water in Cumbria.

The self-confessed adrenaline junkie said her colleagues at Capita Symonds, Preston New Road, Blackburn, thought she was ‘nuts’.

Helen said: “I was always interested in power boat racing with my dad and grandad being racers. I have only been racing for six years, since I met my husband Chris who is also into racing. Some people say the hobby is unusual for a chartered surveyor, but I love to compete.”

Helen’s Italian-built ‘Crescendo’ is a DAC catamaran which boasts a massive 300-horsepower fuel injection engine, similar to those used in the Formula One world championships.

She said this needed the utmost skill to drive and added: “No matter how fantastic the boat is, a driver needs skill.

“You are hovering across the water and one slight hitch could tip the boat over. If the boat had wings, you would take off.

“You have to pass a sail test which involves you sitting in a cell of a boat, fully clothed, strapped in with a five-point harness.

“The test takes place in a swimming pool and you have to be able to get fully out once the boat tips over. It’s really quite scary – but tipping over during a race still doesn’t put me off.”

Helen won the ‘British outright ladies water speed record’ and the ‘Electric outright water speed world record’ within two days of each other during the Coniston Power Boat Records event.

Helen, who lives in Cumbria, reached an average speed of 125.8mph in ‘Crescendo’, beating the previous record of 115.1mph on November 5.

And the day after she went on to speed into first place in her electric three-point hydroplane ‘Firefly’, with a 76.8mph water speed.

She said: “Capita have been kind enough to sponsor me and their name is on my boat. A few colleagues came to watch me win the title, but say they still wouldn’t get behind the wheel.”