Scrapheap Challenge

The first test of the new series was a closely fought three-round contest. The Barleys won the first round convincingly, but the Munch Bunch stormed to a surprising victory in the second. With everything to play for in the final round, the Barleys were lucky to make it to the finish line: a treacherous mud-hole nearly sank them. The Munch Bunch then had not only to complete the section but to improve on the time set by the Barleys. But it was not to be. Their machine became firmly embedded in the same mud-hole that nearly bagged the Barleys, and they were unable to complete the round. The victorious Barleys will be back in a few weeks.

This week saw a remarkable comeback by the Martial Mechanics, proving once again that nothing is certain on Scrapheap. The Krazy Karters were quicker over both land and water in the first two rounds although they were certainly helped by the Martial Mechanics' 30-second penalty for crashing. Round three looked like a formality, but then disaster struck the Karters: their craft was caught in a strong crosswind and lost air pressure, making it considerably slower over the rest of the course. Seizing his chance and holding on to both his nerve and his craft, the Mechanics' Jason snatched victory.

This week sees two new teams battling to become the fastest golf-ball guns on the scrapheap. The day started badly for the Clean Sweeps. They discovered that their ball-feeding mechanism was jamming and were forced into a last-minute rethink. Unfortunately this turned out to be just the first of their problems. Round one was a test of speed and accuracy, and the Sweeps struggled on both fronts: their aim was wayward and motor problems reduced their rate of fire. The Boat Buoys on the other hand looked the genuine article, delivering a string of balls into the moving target and shooting themselves into the lead in the process. Round two was designed to test the machines' sheer power: the object was to smash a wall of bathroom tiles. The Sweeps were forced to abandon their erratic motor for a cordless drill and, although they made an impact, they were no match for the blazing firepower of the Boat Buoys.

Academics get stuck in a maze This week the teams have been asked to map uncharted territory. The Hammerlocks, a team of wrestlers from Coventry, and the Academics Anonymous, a team from Kingston University, have to navigate their way around a 'hostile environment' in a vehicle with the windows blacked out. The Academics seemed to start well but they had a major problem: they couldn't tell when all four wheels of their bus were off the ground or when the bus was level, and this cost them valuable time. They failed to negotiate the first turn in the 'maze', lost their bearings and crashed into the side or the course. Tension was high as the Hammerlocks took their turn in the 'maze'. They also had problems: their navigational devices weren't reliable. However, they were able to crawl their way around the course using a giant mechanical 'feeler' and eventually made it to within a stone's throw of their target - and into the next round!

The Coventry wrestlers and the Hammerlocks have to dig deep - the challenge is to build a machine that can dig up as much sand as possible in a given time.

A chance to see some of the funniest, most ridiculous and memorable moments of Scrapheap Challenge.