A German man has set a new world skating record with a twist.

Rafael Mittenzwei has managed to skate 208.4 kilometres in 24 hours in the German town of Gross-Gerau, but the whole time he was travelling backwards.

Originally Mr Mittenzwei was to be accompanied by a fellow skater, but he had to pull out after suffering problems with his feet.

Mr Mittenzwei skated through the night from his local sports club Blau-Gelb in Gross-Gerau which lies south of Frankfurt.

He said: "The Guinness Book of Records set us the challenge of skating at least 200 kilometres backwards in 24 hours. This would have meant 658 laps of the track. We managed 685 laps which is 208.4 kilometres, which means we have secured a place in the Guinness Book of Records."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.