THERE was a nail-biting race between the fireservice and police in a head-to-head charity steak eating challenge at a High Wycombe diner this week.

Neither firefighter Stuart Long nor PC Matt Baker could finish the mammoth 72oz steak and four sides in the allotted 60 minutes at Mom’s Diner – resulting in the stewards calling for the scales.

And it was Firefighter Long who took the glory for the fireservice as he left just 0.9oz of food on his plate compared to the 1.1oz PC Baker failed to consume.

Besides the bragging rights in one of the oldest friendly rivalries going, Firefighter Long also won a pot full of cash which will be donated to a charity of his choice.

Imran Iqbal, one of the owner’s of the diner in Queen’s Square, said: “It was such a close race, a bit like the turtle and the hare.

“Stuart raced into the lead and we all thought he would win easily but he slowed up towards the end, while Matt was slow and steady, but they ran out of time. We had to have a winner, so we weighed the plates and Stuart won.

“The fire service brought a big following down to support Stuart and there were also a few police officers cheering Matt on, as well as a few members of the public, it was a good atmosphere and we raised quite a bit of money for charity.”

Only two people have so far managed to complete Mom’s monster steak challenge.

If you think you have what it takes, call 01494 257011 to book your steak.