Two darts players who spent a world record-breaking 60 hours at a Leicestershire pub’s oche in the name of charity have smashed their original fundraising target of £5,000.
James ‘Nez’ Hoult, licensee of the Bull & Bush in Shepshed in Loughborough, and one of the pub’s regular darts players, Kev Bryan, initially took to the oche at Hoult’s pub on 3 July aiming to better the previous world record of 50 hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds.
The pair stepped up in aid of the Brain Cancer Charity and Mondo GNA01, a charity working to raise awareness of the gene mutation GNA01 and fund research.
However, after two-and-a-half days of throwing arrows, a post shared on the pair’s 60 Hour Darts Marathon Facebook page revealed the pair had checked out on a higher total than initially hoped for – and counting.
“Well then ladies and gentlemen, James Hoult and Kevin Bryan are pleased to announce we have a preliminary figure of over £6,500.
“An amazing effort and the number is still rising so watch this space for the final total.”
Pulling out all the stops
Discussing the world record attempt at the Bull & Bush before the 60-hour marathon got under way, fellow licensee Laura Hoult commented: “We are incredibly excited to be hosting this Guinness World Record attempt and so proud of our darts player Kev for taking on the challenge with James.
“Both charities have an incredible cause and we’re so excited for the day.
“Playing a darts match for 60 hours will be no mean feat but we’re confident the guys will be able to hit that Bull’s-eye.”
Moreover, Steve Brighty, business development manager at Admiral Taverns, the Chester-based operator behind an estate of roughly 800 pubs, added: “The team at the Bull & Bush has worked really hard to bring this event to life and it’s fantastic to see the pub showing support for its players and their chosen charities.
“They are pulling out all the stops to raise money for a great cause with a really impressive challenge ahead.”
Champagne and confetti cannons
The record-breaking 60-hour attempt was streamed live via a dedicated Facebook page and observed by witnesses and stewards. The pub will now send details of the record to Guinness World Records for verification.
The running £6,500 total raised at the time of writing was raised by a combination of the sponsored match, a charity auction raising £1,200 and £3,000 from a raffle.
Discussing the record, licensee Laura Hoult explained: “The final 15 minutes saw hundreds of people cheering and singing along to Sweet Caroline, The Killers and The Final Countdown before the clock stopped, and Nez and Kev headed out to the front lawn with magnums of sparkling wine and giant confetti cannons to celebrate.”
