Witney grandad hopes record-breaking racing shed will be crowned Britain's best
Ed the world's fastest shed has been shortlisted for Shed of the Year 2026
A Witney grandad who built the world's fastest garden shed is hoping his unusual creation can add another title to its list of achievements.
Brian Cade, who broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest garden shed in October, has now been shortlisted for Shed of the Year 2026.
The competition, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, has narrowed down hundreds of sheds from across the UK to 38, with entrants competing in 11 categories before an overall winner is crowned.
A bedtime story turned world record
Brian, who runs a building company, said the project combined his work with one of his passions.
"Building a shed isn't quite the same as building a house, but the carpentry skills helped. I'm also very keen on classic cars. I've got a few old cars that I tinker with, so that's why I brought together the car interest and the shed."
The idea really took off after his three young grandchildren asked why he was building a shed on top of a car.
Brian told them it was "to get away from the Big Bad Wolf".
The project then inspired him to write a children's book, The Pig Escapade, which is a continuation of the Three Little Pigs.
The road to 123mph
Brian's first attempt at the world record ended in disappointment, which he now looks back on fondly.
"Failing the first time was actually really good in that it continued the story.
"They set it all up to race and then it was towed home after the clutch failed. They were all rooting for me. It made the story even more exciting to then go back, repair the clutch, make a few changes and actually achieve the record."
That second attempt saw Brian reach 198.65km/h (123.43mph) to become the world's fastest shed.
He said driving it at nearly 200km/h is not for the faint-hearted.
"It is scary. You're in a roll cage and you can't really see properly.
"The engine has been upgraded to 350 brake horsepower which makes it incredibly noisy, so it is quite terrifying."
Now aiming for another title
Brian says entering Shed of the Year was the perfect way to continue this journey.
"I got an email from the competition asking if I wanted to enter the shed. I thought, 'Let's keep the story going and hopefully make people smile.'"
The project has also raised around £2,000 for Reach, a charity supporting children and adults with upper limb differences.
Although Brian's record-breaking shed is currently tucked away in the garage, he is already thinking about its next chapter.
"I'm hoping someone else will beat it the record so I can have another go.
"I'm also thinking of taking Ed the Shed off - the blue shed from the book - and putting a more shed-like shed on it to race again. I'm desperate to keep the story going."
Voting for Shed of the Year 2026 closes on Tuesday.