A kitesurfing cheese fan has claimed a world record, after surfing some of Britain’s finest cheeses over the Channel.

Captain Rob Smith made it from Dungeness to Calais in two hours and 11 minutes, accompanied by Baron Von Langoustine and Neil Tunley, who helped cycle the cheeses from Surbiton on Sunday, May 2.

The Voyage du Fromage was the brainchild of Surbiton-based cheese club Homage de Fromage and has so far raised more than £13,000 for Shooting Star Hospice and the Lebara Foundation.

The mayor of Wissant, Bernard Bracq, who met the cheese procession in France, said: “The people of Wissant are thrilled to be able to welcome the British delegation and be part of the reception committee for this admirable attempt at a Channel kite-surf record, combined with an international cheese-bearing mission.

“Wissant is the closest place to Great Britain on the French coast, and is the point from which all pilgrimages from Europe to Britain passed in the 13th and 14th centuries.

“We are therefore proud to be able to resurrect a great moment of historical and cultural exchange on the back of the Voyage du Fromage.”

Captain Smith hailed it a “great moment for cheese”, but it was not such a great moment for his mobile telephone, which got lost in the crossing.

Club president Robin Hutchinson said: “Everyone involved with this fantastic project should be congratulated. It just shows what a community can do when they work together. For Rob to set a world record is the icing on the cheese.”

The barking mad club now plans to build a giant buckaroo game.

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