Australian man plays lawn bowls for 73 hours Published duration 9 January 2017

image copyright ABC image caption Shayne Barwick pictured 71 hours into his record attempt

A man in Australia has attempted to set a world record by playing lawn bowls continuously for three days.

Shayne Barwick bowled for 73 hours in the remote Queensland town of Cloncurry, 1700km (1056 miles) northwest of Brisbane.

Mr Barwick, who was raising money for his club, believed 73 hours was the current record.

But he said he "really put his foot in it" after learning a singles bowling record did not exist.

"I was reading in the Guinness Book of rules and regulations and I thought it said 73 hours to beat (the record). But it wasn't - it was the age of some bloke," Mr Barwick told The North West Star

"I'm going to the pub with my mates (to) have a beer, have a cigar and relax."

The Cloncurry Bowls Club said Mr Barwick was now the "Guinness World Record holder", but a spokeswoman for the company could not immediately confirm the claim.

'Superhuman effort'

Starting at 09:00 on Friday (22:00 GMT on Thursday), the 46-year-old club manager was allowed a 10-minute break every four hours.

He was brought water and food on the green, while an ambulance crew was on standby.

Mr Barwick rolled his final ball at 10:00 on Monday, cheered on by what the local newspaper called "seemingly half the town".

"It's a superhuman effort, there's no other term for it," Cloncurry mayor Gregory Campbell told the BBC.

"I've done some pretty long stints at work but never anything that comes close to 73 hours."

Mr Barwick hoped to raise A$20,000 (£12,000; $15,000).