London, Feb 16 : A Scotsman has become the fastest person ever to cycle round the world, pedalling past the finishing line at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris - 195 days and six hours after he set out.

The cyclist, Mark Beaumont of Fife knocked two months of the existing record after averaging 100 miles a day in the saddle.

The earlier record was of 276 days.

Beaumont rode into Paris after covering the 18,000-mile journey that took him through Iran, Pakistan, India and New Zealand.

The 25-year-old claimed that he would have done it even quicker if he hadn't been forced to eat junk food in America and Australia.

"There were no healthy options. I had to eat the stuff at truck stops and it had a massive effect on my mental focus and body strength," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

After reaching his landmark, he said: "It's an absolutely fantastic feeling to achieve the world record after six months on the road. Now I'm going to celebrate and then crash out."

Amarilis Espinoza, a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records, said the organisation had been following the cyclist's progress.

She said: "We are very excited for Mark to be arriving in Paris. We will be reviewing documentation from him and our researchers will go through the paperwork, but it has been logged as an official attempt and it seems everything is in order."

ANI