A group of mates have broken the record for the most efficient hybrid drive from Land's End to John O'Groats - achieving nearly 377 miles to the gallon on a single tank of petrol.

Fergal McGrath, 52, Julian Warren, 59, and Umit Sabanci, 49, embarked on a road trip in Fergal's plug in-hybrid VW Golf GTE.

A plug-in hybrid means a car can run on both petrol and electricity (PHEV).

They completed the 863 mile journey on just a single tank of petrol combined with the car's electric function.

The official record broken was for the lowest fuel consumption ever achieved with a production plug in hybrid hatchback car - 376.6 miles per gallon (MPG) / 0.75 litres per 100km.

While they had to stop several times to fast-charge the electric they drove the distance in just over 24 hours - including stops for breaks and driver changes - and used just 2.2789 gallons of fuel for the entire journey. The car holds approximately nine gallons of fuel.

They drove the distance just over 24 hours - including stops for breaks and driver changes - and used just 2.2789 gallons of fuel for the entire journey.

After arriving at John O'Groats, the car was filled up again to show how much they'd used - which cost just £15.43 for 10.36 litres.

With a fully charged 19.7 kWh battery, the car could achieve up to 150 km driven at normal road speeds until fully depleted.

Then the fuel engine would come in, and the vehicle operated in the most efficient mode, allowing regeneration when braking or going downhill and reverting back to electric drive when the battery had regained enough charge energy.

During the night, the electric-only range was reduced to about 100 km as cabin heating and headlights consumed extra energy.

They hope that their achievement will show people that they can "dramatically improve fuel consumption."

Fergal, an automotive engineer from County Carlow, Ireland, said: "It was great fun. We achieved an exceptional record in a simply brilliant car and we met some really interesting people along the way."

"We've hit our main target - the aim was simple: let's try to get an outstanding MPG number."

"We didn't know if it was doable as seamlessly as we did it - but it was relatively effortless. "

"The car operates seamlessly between electricity and petrol and that was a real pleasure."

"Everybody who has a car has the potential to do this. "

"Some people are a little bit scared to go straight to electric, so it's about showing that these cars exist and the technology exists, and you can dramatically improve your fuel consumption. "

"A win-win for your pocket and the planet."

"With clever planning and using the existing infrastructure for charging then you're using very little fuel."

"The idea is not to do a big 900-mile drive, but we wanted to prove that if you can do something like this on an incredible distance, then you can utilize that in your daily drive."

They had to set off from Lands End at 9AM on Saturday 5th April and arrived in John O' Groats on Sunday 6th April after stopping to charge the car a number of times at fast chargers along the way.

Despite the intense planning, Fergal's most challenging part of the trip was "staying awake."

He said: "The middle of the night was the hardest part to stay awake but we had three drivers though so we were okay."

"We made sure that we all had some rest and had lots of stops for safety, charging and breaks."

The trio had to have witnesses for their record to verify the car and fuel tank.

Fergal added: "We had the mayor of St Just in Land's End verifying the car was standard and using a full fuel tank - we then didn't open the tank again for the rest of the trip."

"This was a real-world test to see if this car could achieve an exceptional overall fuel consumption and drive a large proportion on electric only with the combustion engine turned off. "

"There was zero range anxiety because there is a 1.5 TSI petrol engine available, which kicks in when the battery is depleted. "

"The fast charging also allowed this trip to be done normally, and most people would take a break or have some food while the vehicle was on charge. "

"It was really good, but hard work, like it should be!"

www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/776310-lowest-fuel-consumption-from-lands-end-to-john-ogroats-by-a-production-plug-in-h