The really big smoke: world's longest cigar

A Cuban aficionado has rolled the world's longest cigar – measuring 268ft 4in.

Jose Castelar Cairo's feat – once it is accepted by Guinness World Records in London – will eclipse his previous world best, 148ft 9in. Cairo, 67, took more than a week to roll the giant cigar, which marks the fifth time he has held the record.

It is on display at El Morro, an old Spanish fort overlooking Havana Bay, where Cuba is holding its annual International Tourism Fair. He insists his creation should remain in his homeland and said: "It has to be in Cuba because Cuba is where the best tobacco in the world is."