Could I sink a Titanic Burger?

Can you sink the Titanic? That is the question being asked by bosses at a Shropshire diner who believe that they have come up with one of the biggest burgers in Britain.

At Oscar's Diner, attached to the Odeon Cinema in Telford, the £15 Titanic packs a meaty punch and is thought to contain nearly double the recommended daily calorie allowance at about the 5,000 mark.

I decided to give it a try - and despite managing to cram in 1lb of beef, an 8oz chicken breast, six rashers of bacon, one waffle, four onion rings, a portion of chips, salad and half a pint of milkshake, I still failed miserably.

Punters are given 45 minutes to tackle the feast with the promise of fame and fortune and a picture on the diner's wall for anyone with the iron stomach to triumph.

A free T-shirt saying "I sank the Titanic" and a free main meal at Oscar's - if you ever wanted to eat again - are also thrown in with the prize.

Oscars owner Tony Kular said they introduced the burger at the start of the month after being inspired by Sky TV's Man vs Food show, where host Adam Rickman takes on a variety of gut-busting eating challenges.

"We wanted to do something a bit quirky," Mr Kular said.

"We believe it is the biggest proper meat burger in the country. There is a bigger burger but it contains a lot of bread. There has been loads of interest in it and we have had people come from as far afield as Wales.

"I reckon about 100 people have tried it, but only 15 have succeeded."

I went off like a steam train, but after about 20 minutes hit the dreaded wall with a full piece of beef, a waffle and most of the milkshake still untouched.

Try as I might, I just could not summon the strength of will to finish it. I was told my effort was "average" compared to others who had tried.

Mr Kular shrugged off the health risks posed by the beefy burger.

"It's just a bit of fun. We are not forcing anyone to eat it," he said.

"We use the finest quality lean meat, although of course when you put it all together there is a high calorific content.

"But there are plenty of other healthy options on the menu if people would rather."

After struggling and failing with this monster, next time I might go for healthy.

By Wayne Beese

What the Titanic contains:

• 2lb of prime beef.

• 8oz chicken breast.

• Six rashers of bacon.

• Two potato waffles.

• Four onion rings.

• Cheese.

• Lettuce.

• Tomatoes.

• Gherkins.

• Burger bun.

Plus: Side portion of chips and a pint of vanilla, strawberry, banana or chocolate milkshake.

Estimated calories: 5,000.

Attempts so far: 101.

Successes: 15.

What you get if you manage to "sink the Titanic": A free T-shirt, your picture on the wall and a main meal for free at Oscar's.