Soap and glory! Leeds window cleaner eyes place in record books

Neil, 50, from Garforth, will be trying to set a new world record for fastest window cleaning at a trade event taking place in Manchester next week.

The record has been held for more than 20 years by Essex-based Terry Burrows, whose best ever time for cleaning three 1.143m high windows is just 9.14 seconds.

Terry says his success is down to a quickfire 16-move sequence that draws on skills he honed as a martial arts instructor and boxer.

But Neil – who runs Caden’s Window Cleaning in Garforth – is himself a black belt in karate and believes he might have the right stuff to dethrone Terry.

The Yorkshire challenger, who will be joined at the record attempt by three more members of the Caden team, said: “Terry is a legend in the world of window cleaning and his record has stood for over 20 years.

“However, I’m pretty quick myself and also share the same strength, agility and flexibility as him which comes from years of combat training.

“With a bit of intensive practice, I therefore might be in a great position to have a go at beating his time.

“There’s also a chance one of my team could snatch it from Terry, but even if none of us get close to his time the world record attempt is a great way to demonstrate the skills and professionalism of Britain’s window cleaners.”

Dozens of window cleaners from around the country are expected to have a crack at beating the record during the Cleaning Show trade event, which is being held on Wednesday and Thursday.

The attempts are being organised and adjudicated on behalf of the Guinness Book of Records by the Federation of Window Cleaners.

Looking ahead to the attempt, Federation of Window Cleaners chair Andrew Lee said: “Terry has done amazingly well to hang onto his record for this long but there’s always a chance of an upset.

“Lots of our members have already told us they are planning to take a crack at his record.

“Having said that, when you see Terry on video or cleaning live he moves so quickly it’s hard to imagine someone will ever manage a sub-nine second time even if they try and copy his technique.”

Neil previously made headlines when he used a telescopic cleaning rod to help save a man from drowning in the lake at Roundhay Park in 2012.