College tutor crowned Britain's fastest bricklayer

A bricklayer has been crowned the fastest in Britain after coming top in a national competition.

Dale Wherton, who teaches at West Nottinghamshire College's Station Park campus in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, claimed the title at the Super Trowel final at Hertfordshire County Showground. He laid 859 bricks in one hour earlier this month.

Competitors were tested not only on the number of bricks they could lay in one hour, but also on the accuracy, consistency and overall quality of their workmanship, organisers said.

Wherton, from Derby, will now represent Britain at the Bricklayer 500 international championships in Las Vegas in January 2027.

Wherton said: "Winning Super Trowel is an incredible feeling.

"The support I've had from everyone at the college has been brilliant, as well as from former and returning students who have all been keeping an eye on me on social media.

"Being able to practise at Station Park and have the students watching and getting involved has made it even more worthwhile because I want them to see just how far you can take this trade if you put the work in."

As part of his preparation for the competition, Wherton went head-to-head with Guinness World Record-holding bricklayer and two-time Super Trowel champion Charlie Collison, in a special challenge at the college's construction campus in Julias Way, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

With students watching the hour-long challenge, Wherton laid 951 bricks – just 20 behind Collison's 971 – despite losing valuable time when his line, the guide to make sure bricks are laid straight, snapped shortly after the contest began.

Wherton said: "To now have the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and compete on an international stage is massive.

"I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes us next."

The college's head of centre for construction crafts, Adam Thompson, said: "We're incredibly proud of Dale.

"Winning Super Trowel is a fantastic achievement and a real testament to the skill, dedication and hard work he has put into preparing for the competition."

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