MANY have tried and all had failed to defeat a monster 72oz steak challenge at a High Wycombe restaurant – until now.

As human dustbin Lorenzo Spina, 22, devoured Mom’s Diner’s meat mountain and four giant sides in just 45 minutes last Friday to pick up a t-shirt and ensure his face adorns the diner’s wall of fame forever more.

The St Helens resident made the long trip down the M6 especially to face the phonebook-sized meat slab – but he had to make a shorter dash immediately after defeating the Goliath steak.

He said: “I felt a bit sick but we went straight to Sainsbury’s around the corner to get some Rennie tablets to settle my stomach – I was fine after that kicked in but I didn’t eat until Saturday night.

“It’s nice to be the first person to do it as I know quite a few people have tried. I think the people in the restaurant were quite surprised I did it.”

It was the first time the IT recruitment consultant had ever attempted a steak challenge but he does have previous, including tackling a one kilogram burger and munching on super-hot chillies.

He even searched the internet for tips on how to conquer the beastly meal - but what is the Bedford-born man’s motivation for eating challenges?

“If the money is right I’ll give most things ago, I bet against my mates.

“I got the steak for free as I completed it but I only got £30 from my mates as they were reasonably confident I would do it.

“I got about £100 for the chilli challenge but I couldn’t do the KFC bucket challenge so I lost out there, so it’s swings and roundabouts.”

Steve Brown, owner of the diner, said his staff were stunned that the 5 ft 9”, eleven stone man succeeded where others had failed.

He said: “He's not a giant man as you would think, but he ate the steak in under 20 minutes and everything in under 45 minutes. The challenge is to finish everything in under an hour, so he flew past that.

“He drove for a couple of hours to get here, finished his food, collected his t-shirt and drove off. My colleague Imran was here for the whole thing and he didn’t think he had a hope in hell's chance of finishing it.”

The diner is now hoping a Wycombe resident, ideally a woman, will join Lorenzo on the wall of fame.

Call 01494 257011 to book your spot as the restaurant needs two days to prepare the challenge.