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Amputee Philip Tucker aims to set record for prosthetic leg dancing in Maidstone

An amputee who lost his right leg during a motorbike crash will attempt to set a world record as he targets a nine-hour stint of dancing.

Rock and blues fan Philip Tucker, from Maidstone, suffered injuries to both legs in June 2001 after a collision with an articulated tipper.

The 49-year-old is now keen to celebrate both his and the Kenward Trust’s 50th birthdays by prancing about on his prosthetic limb at a town centre pub.

Philip Tucker lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001
Philip Tucker lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001

Mr Tucker, who lives in Plains Avenue, will set up a musical camp at the Royal Albion in Havock Lane, off St Faiths Street, on Saturday, April 21 for his Guinness World Record attempt.

He said: “Before my accident I was well-known around town for getting up and having a boogie.

“When I got back moving a bit more freely I got back on my previous bike. I was back on the road less than 10 months after my crash.

“There aren’t that many people with two legs who put as much energy into dancing as I do over the course of an evening.

“I thought there must be something worthwhile in setting the record. I thought it would be something fun to set an actual official record.”

After hearing about a friend’s addiction to heroin and the subsequent help he received, Mr Tucker felt inspired to give the Kenward Trust the publicity he feels it deserves.

The precision engineer, who runs his own company in Sittingbourne, also met one of the founders of the alcohol and drug rehabilitation charity at a Yalding church.

Having found no existing record Mr Tucker is keen to waltz his way into the history books with the first ever danceathon.

Philip Tucker is hoping to set a world record for the longest dance by someone with a prosthetic leg
Philip Tucker is hoping to set a world record for the longest dance by someone with a prosthetic leg

He said: “The Kenward Trust said it is their 50th anniversary and it is my 50th birthday as well so it makes sense to put those two things together.

“My plan is to set up a little festival in the courtyard outside the Royal Albion. It is a nice spot for a mini festival and people can enjoy it.

“If I set up eight or nine hours of music then I can see how long I can dance for.

“I need to have a way of measuring how much energy I use because you submit the evidence to Guinness World Records and they decide whether or not to grant it.”

Should Mr Tucker succeed with his attempt, he will join Nigerian dancer Pinki Debbie in the record books after she danced for 150 consecutive hours at a shopping centre in Lagos.

The 22-year-old spent seven days on the dancefloor last year.

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