A Southampton man is challenging window cleaners from across the world in the first international Window Cleaning World Cup.

Phil Nelhams, a manager at Clean Plus, will compete for the chance to be crowned the world's fastest 'shiner' and win £1,000 on March 20.

The 51-year-old from Fawley will also take part in a Guinness World Record challenge, where he hopes to smash the ten-year-old record for window cleaning held by Britain's Terry 'Turbo' Burrows.

The event will take place at the Excel Exhibition Centre, London, at 1pm, seeing window cleaners represent their countries sand their companies.

Phil hopes to complete the challenge in eight seconds, beating Terry's time of 9.14 seconds where he cleaned three 1.143 metre high windows in 2009.

Phil said: "Terry is a legend in the world of window cleaning, having held the record for over 20 years. However, I’ve got technique and skill and I’m looking forward to challenging for Terry’s record and seeing how quick I really am."

Both men use a fast 16-move sequence cleaning from side to side, which Phil says takes "months to learn how to do it properly".

The window cleaner said: "I am pretty confident in my own skills. I thought why not enter it and be the first winner for England."

Participants in the World Cup and World Record challenge will have to clean three consecutive windows set in a frame with a 300 mm squeegee using nine litres of water.

They must remember to wipe the window sill and any smears will incur time penalties which are added to their final time.

Phil added winning the World Cup "would be a fantastic thing to happen. It would be a real achievement for me".

When asked why he became a window cleaner, Phil said: "I like meeting different people and being in the fresh air. I enjoy being my own boss, as I'm self-employed.

"I am also a part-time carer at Apex Prime Care in Shirley, which helps me pay the bills."

Female window cleaners will also get the chance to battle it out for a separate World Cup title and £1,000 in cash.