All the Guinness World Records achieved in Swindon

Over the years, the Guinness World Records team has visited our town several times to officially approve an impressive achievement.

The town’s most iconic local landmark is itself a record-breaker.

The Magic Roundabout under construction in 1972. (Image: Swindon Libraries Local Studies)

The Magic Roundabout opened to traffic in 1972 and was the first ever junction of its kind, with five mini-roundabouts linked together in a circle to allow vehicles to drive in both directions around its main central island.

It was designed by the Road Research Laboratory to ease traffic congestion in busy areas.

The roundabout continues to work well today, which gives it the honour of being the oldest ring junction in the country, attracting admiration and bewilderment from visitors and tourists.

The founder of a Swindon business holds the record for longest career as a builder.

Edward William Beard, born in 1878, retired in October 1981 after spending 85 years with the firm he had set up in 1896.

The company bearing his surname continues to this day with successive generations of his family at the helm.

One sporting achievement was broadcast to the nation as part of a CBBC programme.

On September 7, 2016, Christopher Boyadji from France and Zoe Wilkinson from the UK successfully completed the most synchronised ice skating double toe loop jumps done in one minute by a team of two.

While in Swindon, the duo managed 20 of the jumps in 60 seconds on an episode of the sixth series of Officially Amazing. Their record was officially recorded on October 3.

Four brothers - Oliver, Adam, Simon and Luke Byrne – managed to break the record for fastest 4x100m relay by four male siblings here in Swindon on March 34, 2019, achieving a time of 50.84 seconds.

However, not all of these records show Swindon in a positive light.

Princess Margaret Hospital (Image: Newsquest)

Tony Collins went to Princess Margaret Hospital on February 24, 2001. The diabetic was suffering from a virus at the time and spent 77 hours and 30 minutes – more than three days - lying on a hospital trolley in the corridor before he could be admitted to a bed.

This remains the longest time anyone has spent on a hospital trolley in the UK.

Another, more positive, hospital-related record has also been achieved here.

Gerry Hughes created, wrote, produced, and performed the radio soap Acrebury, which aired as a weekly serial on Swindon Hospital Radio from 1974 to 1985.

BBC Wiltshire Sound revived the programme as five daily 10-minute episodes in 1994 and continued to broadcast new instalments until 1999, making Acrebury the longest-running one-man radio soap opera in the country.