Impatient Shopper Straps Jet Engine To Shopping Trolley

The Times: Supermarket trolley hits 50mph

Andy Tyler, a microlight instructor from Suffolk, put his rocket-powered shopping trolley through its paces. It reaches 50mph and, if unwelcome in his local supermarket, it does go in a straight line.

Mr Tyler, 35, built the machine for £50 after coming across the technology that powered the German V1 doodlebugs of the Second World War on the internet. The gas and liquid fuel-powered pulse jet engine glows red as it reaches 600C (1,272F) and is so noisy that it hurts his ears. The engine is made from stainless steel from a kitchen. The trolley was fished from a river near his home. “The first time I started it, the engine exploded,” Mr Tyler said.