A father and daughter duo from the north of England will embark on an 874-mile journey from John O’ Groats to Land’s End on a John Deere X950R lawn tractor.
Andy Maxfield, who hails from Inskip in Lancashire, and his daughter Kathryn will drive non-stop across the UK in an attempt to break a six-year-old Guinness World Record for the journey, which currently stands at four days and 23 hours.
They also plan to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society and have named their epic drive the Driving the Distance for Dementia challenge.
They will be supported by Andy’s wife Karen and their other daughter Kaitlyn.
The 24hp lawn tractor will be driven without its rear system and mower deck. Equipped with cruise control and a top road speed of 10mph, the tractor will also be fitted with a GPS tracker to qualify for the record.
Mr Maxfield said he decided to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society as there is a family history of the disease – his 77-year-old father suffers from the disease and his grandmother was also diagnosed with the condition.
The idea to attempt to break a lawn tractor record arose from Mr Maxfield’s obsession with lawnmowers.
“Because friends and neighbours in the village often take the mickey out of me for being into lawnmowers – I’ve got eight altogether – I just thought it would be appropriate to choose a lawn tractor for the record breaking attempt,” added Mr Maxfield.
“I asked John Deere, although I don’t have one of their mowers at home, as I know they make quality products and I wanted something to get me from A to B without breaking down.”
John Deere’s turf division manager, Chris Meacock, said the record attempt coincided with the company selecting the Alzheimer’s Society as its chosen charity for the year.
He said: “We are delighted to back this very worthy cause and are looking forward to the challenge.”
John Deere has also donated a new X350R lawn tractor, worth more than £5,000, as a special raffle prize for a fundraising charity ball the Maxfield family is hosting in December.
