Cushion spinner sets record

Thomas Senior attempts to set a world record at the Boot and Shoe, watched by Alison Trippier and Mike Kirkham

Thomas ‘Bounce’ Senior, from Great Eccleston, has been confirmed as the man who can spin a pillow on his finger for the longest time.

The 20-year-old’s official time, as acknowledged by the Guinness World Records, for the feat stands at 15 minutes and seven seconds.

And he also has the honour of being the first ever person to hold that particular record after spotting his talent had not previously been the subject of a world record attempt.

The full-time entertainer who performs at weddings, birthday parties and christenings, said the talent came to him while watching television.

Former Rossall School pupil Thomas said. “I could always do it for quite a long time and never really thought anything of it.

“Then one of my friends said ‘that’s quite cool’ and I wondered if there was a world record for it.

“Guinness told me there wasn’t and I thought it’d be great to be able to say I was a world record holder.”

According to Guinness World Records you can either invite one of their official judges for a fee or send in a video to register an attempt.

The Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist in 2013 chose to send in a video and had to a meet a set of criteria including having two witnesses, two time keepers and performing the record attempt in a public place, the Boot and Shoe pub, in Elswick.

After sending the video off, Thomas faced an anxious 12-week wait before a confirmation email came through at the weekend.

A Guinness World Records spokesman said: “The longest duration spinning a pillow on the finger is 15 minutes 7.59 seconds and was achieved by Thomas Senior (UK) in Preston, UK, on 24 October, 2016.”

Thomas added: “It’s amazing to be able to say that I’m the best in the world at something. If no-one has broken the record by October, I’ll think I’ll try and spin the pillow for longer to beat my own record.”