Former world record holder charged with theft

Once a Guinness World Record hero, now a shame-faced criminal.

BIG BREAK: Chinchilla man, John Paul Allwood, once held the Guinness World Record for breaking melons with his head, now he's been charged for breaking into the local bowls club freezer in search of food. Picture: YouTube.

IN 2007 John Paul Allwood headbutted his way into the Guinness World Record books when he smashed 40 watermelons on his head in 58 seconds, in 2019 he faced Chinchilla Magistrates Court for stealing food.

The court heard the former world record holder broke into the Chinchilla Bowls Club after hours on May 22 and stole frozen food from the club house's freezer.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Jodie Tahana told the court officers recognised Allwood in CCTV footage and tracked him down the next day where he made full admissions of the theft, telling police he did it "because he was hungry".

Things have soured in the 12 years since Allwood became a household name when he set a world record at the 2007 Chinchilla Melon Festival by smashing 40 watermelons with his head in under a minute.

Allwood was previously sentenced to six months in prison back in 2016 after attempting to break into a local coffee shop while under the influence of ice.

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Defense lawyer Michael Corbin said his client knew what he had done was wrong and was ashamed for his crimes.

"At the time of these offences Mr Allwood was excluded from his Centrelink payments due to his drug use and he had no money, no food and no prospects at that time," Mr Corbin said.

Allwood pleaded guilty to five charges, including two counts of entering premises and committing an indictable offence to steal food and two counts of possession of utensils or pipes that had been used.

Magistrate Carroll said Allwood's crime was petty, however gave him a fine of $250 and recorded a conviction.
"In this case what they (the Bowls Club) lost is a lock and some food because most of it was returned in a sound condition," Magistrate Carroll said.

Allwood's record has since been broken twice with Rashid Naseem from Pakistan now laying claim to the Guinness World Record title, smashing 51 watermelons with his head in 60 seconds.