A
HIGH Wycombe man may snap at the bosses of Guinness World Records if
his bid to be become the planet's biggest collector of crab memorabilia
is thrown out.
Dr
Darren Martin, 40, has amassed almost 400 crab-branded items -
including toys, puzzles and mugs - over the last 15 years and has sent a
tongue in cheek entry to the world records authority.
The
Gordon Road resident's crustacean collection began during his marine
biology studies at university, where his doctorate focused on Zinc and
Cadmium in haemolymph of the crab – summed up by his friends as 'Darren
studied crabs'.
Items
adorning the side-walking creatures flooded in from friends and family,
resulting in the father of one – whose two-year-old daughter Hannah has
the star sign cancer - giving in and adding to the collection himself.
He
now hopes to be recognised as holding the largest cluster of crab
collectables in the world. But the records authority say he may not have
enough competition to be crowned as a crab champion.
He said: “It's all a bit of a laugh really, I don't take it seriously.
“They
are dotted around all over my house but I have a bookshelf in my house
which my Vietnamese wife has an incenses candle on the top and then
underneath is the main bulk of crabs – so it likes a bit like a crab
shrine.
“Most
of my friends and family know all about it so they buy me bits at
Christmas, but any visitors to my house are either to polite to say or
must think it's a bit odd.”
The
scientific officer – for a cancer charity – has signed an agreement
form with Guinness World Records but now needs to find two witness
statements to verify his collection and supply media coverage before it
can be considered as a potential record.
Mr
Martin added: “It's not a major part of my life, I'm not obsessed and I
don't take it seriously but I just think it would be very funny to be a
world record holder.”
Dr Darren Martin Crab Memorabilia Collection Photos and Video
