A DAD has put his spare time during the lockdown to good use.... by setting a new world record.

Matt Ager, 41, is now the Guinness World Record holder for the fastest time to flip and catch a full deck of cards.

He smashed his target of two minutes and thirty seconds and is now the proud owner of the record.

Matt, who is a youth worker and owns Braintree Bike Repairs, said: "It's always been one of those things I've wanted to tick off on my bucket list.

"As a family, we sat down at the beginning of lockdown and said we wanted to try new things and set ourselves challenges to keep us going.

"I guess I chose it because of it's one of those useless skills I have which are only ever good for parties or when you're trying to impress your mates down the pub.

"The original plan was to do it as part of a fundraising day for the Make a Wish Foundation.

"My son raised £1,000 for the charity in 2018 with a sponsored bike ride and wanted to do more fundraising.

"We had organised a fun day in August but that all got cancelled because of the pandemic."

Despite social distancing restrictions, Guinness World Records allowed Matt to attempt the challenge from his own home, providing he could provide clear evidence of him doing it.

He got wife Vicki to act as the official time keeper, and children Jack, Emily and Kate, to record his attempts to break the record.

He was also required to use a new pack of cards for each attempt.

Matt, who lives in Hoppit Mead, Braintree, said: "I think we went through about 24 packs of cards in the end and we didn't finish until about 2pm in the morning.

"My official record was two minutes and 16 seconds. There was a faster attempt but one of the cards may have hit the table at one point so we decided not to submit it.

"It was great fun though and I'm over the moon to have a Guinness World Record.

"It still doesn't seem real if I'm honest.

"I'm tempted to have another go because I reckon I can do it much faster but we'll wait and see.

"Records are meant to be broken so I would be delighted for anyone who was able to beat it."

Matt says he and his family are planning to reschedule a fundraising event for the Make a Wish Foundation later this year.

One idea being considered is son Jack taking on a sponsored unicycle ride.

Matt added: "We're desperate to do something because it's such a great charity.

"The whole idea of me doing the world record was for them and it's just ended up being about me.

"Hopefully we can get something organised once the restrictions are lifted."

The Make a Wish charity offers support to terminally ill children and gives them a chance to fulfill their hopes and dreams.