Wellie throwers are TV stars

Simon and Gary Smith's homemade device for throwing wellington boots is featured on Sunday's edition of the Scrapheap Challenge Roadshow. The C4 programme filmed North Bersted resident Simon and Felpham man Gary at a Dorset steam fair last summer.

The brothers, who have featured in the Observer with their robot building skills, used a variety of parts to create their back of a van-sized machine. The combination of an old car trailer, 550cc motorbike engine and two car axles produced a machine which spat out wellies at up to 65mph. The furthest distance they achieved was an astounding 187m. But the windy conditions on the day of filming means TV viewers will not see that feat.

Simon (40), of Fir Tree Avenue, said: 'It was a beast of a machine which we had going at 12,500rpm. It was like a medieval trebuchet but, instead of using weight to throw an object, we put the boots through two wheels spinning at up to 65mph.'