Pub darts team in word record bid

A pub darts team is claiming to have broken a world record after playing continuously for nearly two days.

Four players from the Wadworth-owned Linden Tree in Burlesdon near Southampton were on the oché for a staggering 40 hours and four minutes in an event at the pub which raised £16,000 for charity.

The event was the brainchild of pub regular Rakesh Modha who celebrated his 40th birthday by completing the task with three friends.

And the team were helped on their way with a few pints of '40 4 Forty' - a beer brewed specifically for the occasion by Wadworth.

During the play, 488 games of darts were played, with Rakesh and David Williamson beating Paul Ackland and Mark Mark Elton by 283 legs to 205. There were ten 180's scored and eighty-seven 140's.

In total there were 646 scores of 100 or more and a whopping 29,801 darts thrown. The four players between them they walked over 47 miles from the oché to the dartboard.

Licensee Julie Ellis said: "We're delighted to help Rakesh celebrate his 40th in such spectacular style, and to raise such a significant amount of money for charity.

"Over £16,000 has already been raised for Naomi House Children's Hospice and Marie Curie Cancer Care, both on the night and in the lead-up events."

Last month, Steve Wilson, licensee of the Glenisle Inn, Palnackie, Kirkcudbright, Scotland, and fellow pub darts player Rab Henderson played non-stop for 30 hours but Rakesh is confident his team have beaten the record.

"It might take up to ten weeks for official confirmation to come through, but we are confident that we will be pronounced the new record holders," he said.