A go kart racer who took on a gruelling 24 hour drive to raise money for Help for Heroes has found he is a world record holder, two years after completing the event.

Howard Kayman, of Beech Drive, Borehamwood, took on the punishing challenge in 2010 and raised nearly £10,000 for the charity.

In an email from Guinness World Records last week, Mr Kayman was given the news he successfully set a new world record for individually karting the greatest distance in 24 hours outdoors.

In the challenge two years ago he travelled 1,054.4 miles at the Teeside Karting Circuit, in Middlesbrough, in August 2010, beating the previous record more than 200 miles.

Mr Kayman said: “I only found out last week after a friend of mine was looking at the records and said that I had beaten them, I didn't believe it until I investigated further and he was correct.

“I didn’t go out to try and break the record at all; my main aim was to raise as much money as possible for the charity.

“The reason I chose Help for Heroes is the fantastic work they do with members of the armed forces and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have taken on the drive and I wouldn’t have got the record.”

Mr Kayman has now received an official certificate confirming his world record following an email sent last week from Guinness World Records congratulating him on his achievement.

The 45-year-old estate agent said: “It’s fantastic to have the record but it’s not just about that, it’s about raising awareness of the charity and the work they do and I will definitely be doing something for them again.”

Mr Kayman is to take on the record and break it again and is also planning to take part in a 48 hour race against a kart driver from America.