COLIN FURZE OF LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND, got tired and disgusted with harassing tailgaters when he traveled on his motor scooter. So the 31-yr.-old plumber designed and installed a flame-thrower on the back of his “Flambretta” that can project a jet of flame 15 feet out the rear of his back fender.
Daily Mirror
The London Telegraph reports:
“It’s a lot of fun and when I fire the flames out the back it makes me feel just like James Bond,” said Mr Furze. “The flames are pretty big and up to 15 feet long so you could definitely set fire to someone’s car if you wanted to. The only problem is it can get rather hot if you are riding the moped and blast the flames when the wind is in the wrong direction.”
Mr. Furze made two prior attempts at the flame-thrower until he got it perfected. “It was quite tricky to make and the first version wouldn’t fire the flames when the moped was moving,” he said. “My second attempt kept setting fire to itself, but my third version works really well and I’m very pleased with it.” He also installed a lever that controls the angle of the flame.
Unfortunately, it is illegal to use the flamer on the highway because it is technically classified as a firearm.
Update:
After the photos of Furze’s invention were published in several UK papers on Thursday, the Lincolnshire Police gave up trying to catch real criminals and arrested Furze on suspicion of using a firearm based solely on the photographs. They have no definitive proof of his use on public roads, but they need to look like they are doing something.
Update #2:
Furze is also an accomplished inventor and stunt man. In February 2007 he was recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as having set the world’s largest bonfire, an inferno that sent flames more than 120 feet high and was documented in a VIDEO HERE.
