A NEW sporting world record was set in East Lancashire yesterday -- in clog cobbing.

And new holder Michael Wynn, who recorded a throw of 86 foot, said: "What a feat!"

Throwing a clog over the back of your head down a lane next to the Roebuck Inn, Burnley Road East, Whitewell Bottom, may not sound like the most competitive of sporting occasions.

But try telling hat to the 150 competitors or to Tony Johnson whose 76 foot record set last year was beaten.

There was even a bit of a dispute as the rule books were consulted to confirm the distance was counted where the clog landed, not after it bounced.

Local man Barry Stott thought he had entered the record books with a throw of 81 feet.

But his reign lasted only half an hour as novice Mr Wynn enjoyed a bit of beginner's luck -- and brought gasps from the audience with his record throw.

In some years throwers have struggled to break the 70 foot barrier. And the crowd was stunned to see a throw approaching 90 feet.

The 26-year-old from Waterfoot said: "It is the first time I have tried it. I am a strong lad but I don't really know how I did it."

The World Clog Cobbing Championship has become a tradition in Rossendale since the contest was first staged in the early 1960s.

Hundreds of people visited the pub yesterday to take part or watch, helping raise over £1,000 for local charities.

Trisha Dearden, one of a dozen organisers who spent three months planning the event, said: "It is real community spirit and all the locals in the area pull together for it."