HAVE YOU heard the one about a Poole comic who has broken the world record for telling the most jokes in a minute?

Well, Clive Greenaway, 57, has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records after firing 26 one-liners in 60 seconds in front of a live audience.

Clive spent a year practising for the record and his act was so well-rehearsed he was able to rattle off one joke every two seconds.

Clive, a former driving instructor, is a professional Tommy Cooper impersonator and performs at theatres around the country.

Clive said: “I am delighted with my record.

“When I heard a German held the world record for telling the most jokes in one minute I couldn’t believe it and knew it had to be broken. There was a lot of training that went into it.

“After I wrote down 30 jokes it took me months to practise them and get them word perfect and build up my delivery speed,” he added. I didn’t speed up towards the end [but] started flat out and kept that pace up. I probably left a gap of a 400th-of-a-second for the audience to react before I started the next joke.

“I really enjoyed it although it was a bit of a blur.

“They didn't have to be original jokes so I chose some classic English, old-school jokes the likes of Tommy Cooper and Les Dawson used to tell.

“I also did some of my own.

“They had to be short jokes that had to have a trigger line and a punch-line to them.”

A spokesman for Guinness said: “This particular Guinness World Records title is all about sharp and intelligent joke-telling.

“One of the key rules states that the jokes told must draw a reaction or laugh from the audience – so Clive's achievement of 26 jokes in one minute is a fantastic effort and one that will take some beating.”