TWO Kidderminster men got themselves connected with a fun new world record while out on a regular shopping trip.

George Barker and his friend Mark Harris set a new fastest time for completing a giant Connect 4 set at intu Merry Hill on Saturday (August 4).

They had originally gone to the Brierley Hill shopping centre to get clothes ahead of a Saturday night out when they stumbled across the Guinness World Record-organised attempts taking place over the weekend.

Shoppers were also invited to set new records for catching the most beach balls in a minute while blindfolded and throwing the most plastic bottles at a target in just 30 seconds.

Demolition operative Mr Barker, aged 25, convinced Mr Harris – a 29-year-old landscaper - to join him and take part for a bit of fun.

And their hard work paid off as they smashed the previous record of one minute 21 seconds by an impressive 13 seconds!

He said: “We had gone to Merry Hill to get t-shirts for our night out when I saw the Guinness World Records were there.

“I convinced Mark to do it with me as I thought it would be a good laugh. We did a qualification round and it took us 51 seconds so they invited us back to do it in front of the official adjudicators and all the cameras.

“They were very strict! We had to place the discus in one by one and we couldn’t pick the next one up until the other guy had placed his into the board.

“We had three attempts to do it and after the first two failed, we were more careful and managed to do it in a minute and eight seconds – a new record!

“I just thought it was really funny and it’s a great story to tell. We only did it for a laugh and it’s not something we planned.”

The pair will be sent official certificates and personal copies of the Guinness World Records book to commemorate their achievement.