WITH a £20,000 price tag and top speed of nearly 150mph, this is a skip with a difference.

In fact, the Skipcar, which was developed by Newport waste disposal company GD Environmental Services, is the fastest on earth after setting the first ever landspeed time for a skip.

The skipcar was built from a high-powered Subaru Impreza WRX Type R, and its vital statistics read like the most impressive top trump card in the pack.

A top speed of 147mph, 300 break horse power, 0- 60mph in 5.3 seconds and the handling of a rally car are enough to get most motoring enthusiasts excited.

And owner and driver James Norvill is celebrating after the four-wheel drive speed machine entered the record books on the weekend when it clocked 93mph on a 400m drag circuit in front of thousands of spectators.

GD Environmental managing director Mr Norvill, who took the wheel at the Flame and Thunder event at the Northampton-based Santa Pod circuit on Saturday, said he hoped the record was the first of many to come.

"It is great fun to drive and a great way to publicise the business. We've basically stripped a Subaru Impreza and used it with a standard eight-yard skip to create the skipcar.

"Hopefully we can try and go a bit faster in the future. Maybe we will fit some nitrous oxide to the back of it," he added.

The two-seater car was created in a month by a team of mechanics at a price of £20,000 after Mr Norvill purchased a second-hand Impreza. It weighs 1.1 tonnes and is made of lightweight lower gauge steel.

The company has a fleet of hundreds of skips, worth around £500 each, and provides waste management and drainage services to businesses around the UK.

Mr Norvill said local residents could expect to see a lot more of the skip in the coming months. It will be used by Santa Claus to visit young children in hospitals around South Wales during the run up to Christmas.

Visit the GD Environmental website