Vinyl LPs on shed roof puts new spin on old records

A man has covered a shed roof with charity shop vinyl records because "it was a lot cheaper than tiles".

Mike Johnson came up with the idea after the bitumen on his friend's roof was constantly shredded by the wind. "It was a lightbulb moment," he said.

The shed roof in March, Cambridgeshire, now boasts about 200 vinyl LPs which cost about £70, and took two days to complete.

An outdoor toilet near the shed has been decorated with the record sleeves.

The shed, used as a summer house by Mr Johnson's friend Peter Bull, had recently been refurbished and the pair were keen to protect it from the elements.

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The record covers were not wasted and have been used on the walls of the outdoor toilet

"Tiling seemed the only real solution but it's not cheap and if I can find another way, I will. It's sort of a hobby," Mr Johnson said.

He turned the tables on the DIY stores by coming up with the idea of using old records instead.

A Nana Mouskouri record is among the 200 unwanted vinyl records from the town's charity shops

After admitting to being "a bit tight", Mr Johnson even played the town's various charity shops off against one another in his bid to get the best deal on bulk-buy used vinyl.

"Within an hour we had a boot full of the things."

Anything from Pinky and Perky to Vera Lynn now protects the wooden building while Nana Mouskouri's face greets anyone needing to spend a penny in the newly-decorated outdoor convenience.

Mr Johnson described it as "a lightbulb moment" when he thought up the idea

"Peter's brother kept looking at the records and saying, 'that must be worth a bob or two', but we weren't interested as they were all destined for the roof. Except for a few we broke," Mr Johnson said.

A decorative touch was added by bending some records over a gas cooker - "you can end up with a puddle if you're not careful" - and then Mr Johnson said he "just went nuts with a load of washers and screws".