Some gardeners try to grow tall sunflowers, others giant marrows, but this novice gardener has unwittingly grown a dandelion measuring nearly 7ft tall.

Eastern Daily Press: Within a couple of days the next thing I know it had shot up and basically had branches coming off it, I had never seen a dandelion like it. Wayne Daniels from Bowthorpe on growing the worlds tallest ever dandelion at 7ft 1in, August 2016. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYWithin a couple of days the next thing I know it had shot up and basically had branches coming off it, I had never seen a dandelion like it. Wayne Daniels from Bowthorpe on growing the worlds tallest ever dandelion at 7ft 1in, August 2016. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant)

Window cleaner Wayne Daniels, of Bowthorpe, believes that the plant which has grown out of his flower pot could be the world's tallest ever dandelion at 7ft 1in despite his initial attempts to stunt its growth.

The 48-year-old claims he is no gardener and said the plant began to shoot up after he tried to snap it in half.

'The funny thing is that it is such a big dandelion and it has just been sitting in this flower pot that a friend gave me,' he said.

'I tried to pull it out of the pot and I managed to snap it in half but I read somewhere that if you cut a plant at a certain stage of growth it actually develops faster so I left it as an experiment.

Eastern Daily Press: Wayne Daniels with his tall dandelion, measuring 85 inches to the highest stem, at his garden in Bowthorpe. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYWayne Daniels with his tall dandelion, measuring 85 inches to the highest stem, at his garden in Bowthorpe. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2016)

'Within a couple of days the next thing I know it had shot up and basically had branches coming off it, I had never seen a dandelion like it.'

The title for the world's tallest dandelion is currently held by Jo Riding and Joey Fusco from Canada who managed to grow one measuring 6ft 4in in 2011. However by the time it was officially measured by Guinness World Records it had dried out and only reached 5ft 10in which means that the Bowthorpe dandelion is currently 15in taller.

Mr Daniels is keen to get his dandelion officially measured as soon as possible before it starts to wilt or dry out.

He added: 'I don't know how long it will stay this tall before it starts to dry out.

Eastern Daily Press: Wayne Daniels with his tall dandelion, measuring 85 inches to the highest stem, at his garden in Bowthorpe, with help from his son George. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYWayne Daniels with his tall dandelion, measuring 85 inches to the highest stem, at his garden in Bowthorpe, with help from his son George. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2016)

'I'm not a gardener hence why I'm growing a dandelion, it is just luck that it has grown so big as I have done nothing to it over then let it grow.'

A Guinness World Records spokesperson said of the dandelion: 'We invite the claimant to make an application via our website in order for us to be able to ratify the achievement. Once the evidence has been submitted, this can take up to 12 weeks to be reviewed.'