A Telegraph reader has cracked what was claimed to be the world's hardest crossword in less than two hours.

Crossword compiler Marc Breman, 56, believed his cryptic creation would leave the most hardcore crossword fans feeling frustrated and estimated it would take two years to complete.

But reader Simon Anthony solved the puzzle in less than two hours.

The 44-year-old from London said: "I am a very keen puzzler and did enjoy the crossword, some of the clues were definitely tricky, but two years would be a stretch.

"I did enjoy the puzzle though, it used a lot of interesting vocabulary and cluing, although some of the clues were outrageous."

The crossword, which can be accessed here, took a fortnight to create and was claimed to be 100 times harder than any Mr Breman had constructed in his 30-year career for various titles and publications.