A VICTORY for England over Germany could be claimed in Weymouth tonight.

But this clash has nothing to do with the World Cup – it’s a side-splitting battle of comedy.

Clive Greenaway, who performs as fez-wearing late comedian Tommy Cooper, is hoping to wrestle the world record for Most Jokes Told in One Minute away from a German comedian.

He will be going for the Guinness World Record on stage tonight at Weymouth Pavilion during his show The Magic and Mirth of Tommy Cooper.

The record is currently held by Markus Weise of Germany, who told 21 jokes in a minute on August 14, 2012.

Poole resident Clive said: “It’d be super to beat the Germans at something. I wanted it to coincide with the World Cup – it’s going to be great for Weymouth if the record is beaten there.

“I’m ever so delighted that I’ve come up with this plan. You know what they say about German humour, we need to get this record off them.”

Clive is aiming to tell 28 jokes in a minute.

He said: “The whole show is going to be filmed and also I have to have judges there.

“I can’t afford to have someone from Guinness there but we have to make sure it’s properly documented.

“We speak at an average of four words a second and I think I can do it.

“I have to do very fast delivery lines at the speed of a machine gun.

“I’m just going to go for it.”

The potential record-breaking moment will come at the end of the first half of the show.

Clive, the world’s only professional Tommy Cooper act, is hoping as many people as possible will come along to the show to support him.

He said: “I’ve performed for Sir Anthony Hopkins, who is a big Tommy Cooper fan. This could be another incredible moment while paying tribute to Tommy.”

Clive re-enacts all Cooper’s favourite tricks like ‘bottle-glass, glass-bottle’, the mind-reading duck, the Chinese linking rings and the Indian rope trick.

Most are performed using original props.

n The Magic and Mirth of Tommy Cooper starring Clive Greenaway as Tommy Cooper is at 7.30pm tonight at Weymouth Pavilion.