Woman 'over the moon' to retain Flatpack World Championship title

A woman has retained her title as Flatpack World Champion and broken her personal best assembly time in the process.

Hayley McAuley, from Wigan, said she was "over the moon" to successfully defend her title at the Flatpack World Championships at ExCel London, building a bedside table in eight minutes 20 seconds.

It took the warehouse worker - who also has her own flatpack support business - nine minutes and 33 seconds to claim the championship at last year's inaugural event.

"Another one to the collection!" she said as she collected her golden hex key medal at the event, which is part of Grand Designs Live.

The competition saw two groups of flatpack experts face off across two rounds. The first round involved assembling a bookcase, with the fastest two from each heat making it to the final.

The last four then went head-to-head, building a two-drawer bedside table in front of a live audience while onstage property expert and Grand Designs contributor Kunle Barker provided running commentary.

"In your childhood you build Lego - it's just the same thing but on a bigger scale," said fellow contestant Mark, explaining the appeal.

"If you get bogged down and you're getting frustrated, the best thing to do is walk away. Just take 10 minutes."

All the furniture assembled during the competition will be donated to the British Heart Foundation.

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