A DAD who swapped life on a farm to search oil fields in the Middle East for unexploded bombs is hosting the first round of a national competition at his farm this weekend.

Father-of-two Charlie Peach spends his days working at his equine and livery farm, Magnolls Farm, in Haslingden Old Road.

But in his spare time, he designs, builds, and races hovercraft, with the farm becoming a venue for races and tournaments.

And today and tomorrow, the first stage of the National Hovercraft Racing Championships will be held there at a cost of £5 per car and £2 per person for walkers.

Charlie said: “This is the 11th year we have done it. Because it’s the first of the year it ranges from 30 to 40 craft.”

Last year, the 43-year-old’s hobby took an extreme twist when he was approached by a London company contracted to clear oil fields in Kuwait of landmines and unexploded bombs left over from the first Gulf War in the early 1990s.

Charlie said: “I spent a few months out there helping to survey the ground for ordinance. It was a very large area.

“They are clearing up the mess left over from the war, but before they can put in any construction equipment the land has to be surveyed.”

Using a hovercraft meant contaminated sand that other vehicles, or even people, couldn’t survey was covered – and in a much shorter time.

“Without a hovercraft, it would have been painstaking,” he said. “In two hours we could cover an area that would otherwise take several days.

“And the hovercraft has less pressure per square inch on the ground than a human, who would have sunk around 18 inches on some of the terrain.

“It was audacious but it was the best option, and it worked.”