SPEED freak Mark Newby from Chinnor has failed in his quest to break the world land speed record for an electric car after suffering three false starts in the Nevada Desert.

Newby, 46, from Chinnor, flew to America with team partner Colin Fallows to try to reach speeds of 300mph in their yellow torpedo-shaped vehicle called e=motion.

However their plans were scuppered after a small electrical module failed on three consecutive mornings.

Newby said: "It's very frustrating but this sort of thing comes with the territory."

Last year the two drag car racing enthusistas suffered a similar fate in Tunisia when torrential rain in the Sahara desert made racing impossible.

Newby said: "It was the worst rain they had experienced in over a decade. What makes these failures worse is that we know the car can do it."

In practice before the second attempt e=motion reached a speed of 190mph using only half the car's available power just 60mph short of the current record held by American car White Lightning.

The 32-foot long aluminium and carbon-fibre framed car took five months to assemble at the cost of "a small fleet of Ferraris." It is now stored at the team's garage in Northampton.

Newby, who had to remortgage his house for the trip to Nevada, admits the two failed record attempts have taken their toll.

He said: "This is a seven-day-a-week job.

"My wife and I have been together since 1987 and we have never had a family holiday. But you cannot start a quest and then complain. You either have an easy life with a nice car and house or you do something like this."

Newby now plans to take a break and concentrate on his publishing business before contemplating another record attempt.

He said: "I would love to break the record but perhaps it is time for someone else to donate years of their life. We are happy for someone to take the car and go and get the record, we have no problem with that. I have a note from Richard Branson somewhere upstairs, perhaps he will be interested."