A BLIND father of two has broken the land speed record.

Mike Newman, 52, who was born blind due to glaucoma, hit the gas pedal in a Litchfield LM1 RS, last Wednesday, to smash the record by reaching a speed of 200.9mph.

During the attempt at Elvington, near York, Mike was guided by a navigator over a radio link.

In breaking the record, he eclipsed the previous record for a blind person, which was held by him, and had stood at 186mph.

After his record run Mike said: "Wow, this was an amazing experience and one I will always cherish.

"However, without the support of my team and sponsors it would not have been possible."

To enable him to attempt the record, the car a Nissan GT R, was rebuilt by Litchfield of Gloucestershire.

Mike who now holds six different Guinness records including the water speed record for a blind person, said the attempts were to help raise £3.5m for the Speed of Light charity.

Mike explained: "These record attempts are a great way to bring attention to the charity which aims to build a track on a 33 acre site in East Manchester for people with disabilities."

Mike is set to take on his final high speed record attempt later this year, to become the first blind driver on water to travel at more than 100mph in a power boat off Exmouth.

After his latest exploits Mike was congratulated in person by Gina, the daughter of his one time hero the late Sir Donald Campbell.

Henshaws Society for Blind People's chief executive, Nick Marr praised Mike's involvement with the Old Trafford charity

He explained: “Mike has been a great ambassador of Henshaws for many years and we are so proud of him for breaking the land speed record!

"He is an inspiration to us all and it just goes to show that having a visual impairment doesn’t stop you from doing extraordinary things.”