THE eyes of the world are on a right royal world record attempt which is underway in Weymouth.

Master craftsman Dave Evans is hand-cutting a 40,000 piece jigsaw made up of 33 photos taken last summer of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in a bid to create a Guinness World Record.

Dave is cutting the jigsaw in the atrium of Brewers Quay in Hope Square.

His record-breaking bid is being live-streamed over the internet every day from 11am.

For every 5,000 pieces Dave cuts, a light will be highlighted on his website so that visitors can monitor his progress.

Dave, who runs the Jigsaw Workshop at the back of Brewers Quay, has already cut the first section of the puzzle.

He said: “I’ve ironed out a few tweaks and now it’s no problem.

“I’m being very careful to avoid making errors. The first part is the slowest part.”

The pictures used for the jigsaw were taken by members of the public at various festivals, events and street parties during the spectacular summer last year.

The Queen has already shown interest in the project.

It has been confirmed that the 19ft by 8ft finished puzzle will be exhibited at the Queen’s private residence in Sandringham.

It is being cut on an EX-30 Excalibur Scoll Saw, supplied by Axminster Tool Centre which is the main sponsor of the feat.

All of the materials that will be used for the record have been sourced locally.

Since the story was broken in the Dorset Echo, news of the world record attempt has spread as far afield as the USA.

Dave, who was trained to hand-cut puzzles at Victory jigsaw manufacturers, said: “I’m loving all the reaction this has generated. It’s fabulous.

“It was the Echo article that made me realise it’s definitely worthwhile.

“As a result of it I got all these emails from America.

“It made me think there’s a point to it all.

“I originally thought that through the jigsaw I could leave a legacy as a jigsaw cutter and be remembered.

“It now seems like I will be remembered while I’m still here.”

There have been hundreds of hits on the webcam so far.

Dave said: “I thought the webcam was a great idea. I’m pleased to hear there have been lots of people watching but I’m not sure whether they’re watching me thinking I’m going to cut my finger off!”

The cutting attempt, which is also sponsored by Voltz Energy Shots, can be seen online at worldrecordjigsaw.com It is hoped that the world record attempt will be completed by the end of April.

n Brewers Quay will reopen this Thursday with an Italian restaurant and antiques emporium among the attractions lined up in the first phase of the scheme.