A LIGHTNING-quick St Albans student is already a UK champion in speed stacking and is well on course to becoming a world record breaker.

Lee Norton, 12, from Nicholas Breakspear school in St Albans, has amazed people with his speedy talent for the sport which involves 12 specially-designed cups being stacked in a pyramid and then dismantled it as quickly as possible.

The Year 8 pupil, who lives in Welwyn Garden City, gained the official UK Cycle record when he travelled to Colorado earlier this year to take part in the World Sport Stacking Championships and even appeared on ITV’s morning programme This Morning in June.

But it was during a practise at the school’s open evening a few weeks ago that he smashed a world record for a completing a 3-3-3 stacking combination in just 1.72 seconds.

He said: “It just came from nowhere. I kept getting close to my previous record of 1.77 seconds, and then I got 1.72.

“I also beat the cycle world record of 5.93 seconds by doing it in 5.91 seconds, a whole 0.02 seconds faster!”

Lee’s PE teacher, Phil Newbery, described him as an amazingly talented student who was an inspiration to other pupils.

He explained: “Watching Lee in action is something to see – all the pupils are amazed by his quick reactions.

“We have been doing speed stacking for three to four years, as an extra-curricular lunch-time activity.

“We find that it helps to maintain the focus of our learners and that it really improves hand-eye co-ordination and muscle memory.”

In the next few months Lee is participating in tournaments around south-east England and is hoping to break all the UK records, or maybe set a new world record for his age.