HASLEMERE greengrocer Ted Copping is an extraordinary man.

In 30 years, the father of two has, despite an operation for cancer of the cheek and several serious injuries, only taken two weeks' holiday. And he's still smiling!

The owner of the Ted's Shed in Lower Street, has lived in Haslemere and owned a number of shops in the town centre with his wife Marilyn, for the past 30 years.

Mr Copping (68) is currently waiting to hear a decision from The Guinness Book of Records on whether he has broken the British record for working the greatest number of hours in a lifetime.

If he breaks this record, it will add to his collection of awards, including the title of Southern Greengrocer of the Year, which he won in the late 1970s.

Rising at 3 every morning, with a lie-in until 4-30 am on Sundays, Ted even works most bank holidays.

One Christmas morning, a passer-by saw him cleaning-up in his shop and, assuming that he was open for business, called in to buy some carrots.

"I think it's a question of mind over matter," said Mr Copping, on his remarkable achievement.

In September 1997, Mr Copping was admitted to hospital to have a cancerous growth removed from inside his cheek.

He had the operation in the middle of the morning, but later in the day he was out making deliveries to his customers.

His wife, Marilyn, said: "I didn't think they had started the operation because I could hear him talking to the nurses. Next thing I knew, he was walking out of the theatre."

After a fall in his shop, Mr Copping was taken to hospital by ambulance for x-rays and some stitches.

Undaunted by his injuries, he even asked the ambulance crew to call at the lettuce growers so that he could arrange for his order to be delivered rather than picked up.

The last holiday Mr Copping and his family enjoyed together was 15 years ago when they spent a week in Torquay.

The only other holiday they went on was nine years before that, when they travelled to Spain.

Asked what was the secret of his enthusiasm and drive, Ted said: "A supportive wife, and an interest in the customers and the local community."

Mrs Copping is possibly the only rival to his achievement; she has worked a similar number of hours, but the pressures of bringing up a family have meant she had to take some time off work.

Mr Copping said: "Sometimes I'm exhausted, but I just carry on."