THE fastest blind man on earth gave an inspirational talk to a group of Bolton business people.

Mike Newman, co-founder of the Speed of Sight charity and six times Guinness World Record Holder, said: “As a blind person since birth, all my life I had been a passenger and I wanted to be a driver.

“I wanted to drive a fast car myself, which as you can imagine is something of challenge when you are blind.

“But I began to ask ‘what if?’. When you ask that question, things change.”

Mike was speaking at the Bolton Professionals Curry Club lunch at the Spice Valley restaurant, Horwich, last Wednesday.

He said: “Just before my 40th birthday I broke the land-speed record for a blind person on a motorcycle.”

In 2011 Mike broke the record for flying the most loop-de-loops, in 2013 he broke the water speed record at 93mph in a Silverline Racing Boat and in 2014, he became the fastest blind man on land at 204mph in a Nissan GTR.

His unique charity provides life-changing driving experiences for people with disabilities.

Mike, a former bank manager, said: “For people who lose their sight later in life, losing their driving licence is extremely difficult.

“I wondered how I could give back to them that opportunity and passion to drive.”

Mike added: “I realised over the years that sport allows people whatever their ability or challenges to get involved and to succeed.

He said: “The number of blind people who never work is a shocking statistic. Something like four out of five are out of work. Too many people tell you, whether you are disabled or not, what you can’t do.

“You need to surround yourself with those people who can tell you what you can do and that is what I have done over the years.”

Speed of Sight, based in Clifton, employs five people, as well as providing work experience for disabled volunteers.

Events run throughout the year to give disabled people and their families the opportunity to experience the thrill of driving one of the custom-made dual-controlled cars.