A Gorleston man living in Majorca is now a local celebrity after his daily rides on a custom-built two-metre-high bicycle made headlines on the Spanish island.

%image(14620969, type="article-full", alt="Bruce Edwards - the Gorleston inventor now living in Majorca. Photo: Bruce Edwards")

Bruce Edwards, who was born in Gorleston in 1961 but moved to Mallorca in 1997, has always been a handyman and makes his living off building and kitchen-fitting.

But he also works for a welder in the village of Llubi, where he learned to put together his “mad machines”.

Many of his inventions involve bikes - bikes as wheelbarrows, musical instruments and, now, social distancing units. The next thing on his list is a rickshaw.

When his now 95-year-old dad William was a rat-catcher and dog-warden in Great Yarmouth, he always did his rounds on his bike because “that’s how things were done back then”.

%image(14620970, type="article-full", alt="Bruce Edwards on his "high-ride bicycle" which he rides every day for his daily alloted exercise under Spanish lockdown rules. Photo: Bruce Edwards")

Mr Edwards believes that his father’s reliance on bikes to get around has spurred on his own love of them.

He said: “In Spain we weren’t allowed out to exercise until last week, but since then, I’ve been doing 25km journeys on my bike every single day.

“If you think about it, it’s the perfect social distancing tool - because my head is three metres from the ground.”

According to Mr Edwards, locals have been eager to take pictures with him on his iconic contraption, while cars give him a honk of approval as he rides past.He said: “When I first put it together I wanted to make it as high as possible with me still being able to ride it, but then added another 16 inches just in case it wasn’t wacky enough.

%image(14620971, type="article-full", alt="Bruce's 'high-ride' custom-built bicycle. Photo: Bruce Edwards")

“I can get on it fine, and can easily jump off if there’s a junction or an oncoming car. Usually, though, I can time it perfectly so I don’t need to get off at all.

“Nobody else can get on it but it really isn’t that hard, or scary, to ride.

“It’s only got one gear - so that way I wouldn’t get stuck going up a hill.”

But he added that the lack of gears also means he ends up “pedaling like a lunatic” when riding downhill.

%image(14620972, type="article-full", alt="The bike is "perfectly functional as a musical instrument". Photo: Bruce Edwards")

He said: “I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. I tried riding my usual mountain bike the other day and it was just boring.”

%image(14620973, type="article-full", alt="Mr Edwards also built a "barrow-bike" and hopes to build a rickshaw so that his wife can sit and read while he cycles around his village. Photo: Bruce Edwards")