Derbyshire woman going for Guinness World Record as the smallest lorry driver on the planet

Hayley Hume, 40, who used to be a dog trainer, has been driving trucks for the last seven years.

She decided to change her jobs following a car crash with a lorry.

Hayley said: “ I got hit by a lorry in my car and it made me scared of trucks.

“Then I thought that instead of being afraid I will go and drive one.”

Now she drives a 14 foot tall lorry as her job and doesn’t regret her decision.

Hayley, of Bakewell, said: “It gets tough when there is more traffic on the roads but there were moments when I have enjoyed driving a lorry a lot.”

As she is only 144 cm tall, for the last seven years she has gained a lot of attention from fellow lorry drivers and people she meets at work.

She said: I get a lot of stares on the road.

“People are shocked and ask me how do I drive this large lorry. They sometimes want to take pictures with me.”

Hayley realised that she might be the smallest lorry driver in the entire world and decided to go for a Guinness record.

She said: “I had a look at how tall the smallest lorry driver was and I found out they are 153 cm, which is a lot taller than me.

“So I decided I will apply for the record.”

Now she is waiting for a doctor’s appointment to confirm her height and is completing documents to get the official Guinness record certificate.

Hayley is not the only person in her family that has been driving a lorry.

She is following in her grandfather’s footsteps, but at the same time she proves that anybody regardless of gender or size can become a driver.

Hayley said: “ Any woman should go for it if she wants to. Just remember to be strong headed and ignore the men who will definitely try to give you a stick.”

Her height doesn’t make her work harder as everything inside the lorry is adjustable to the driver’s size.

She said: “The trucks are really big inside, like a cockpit of an aeroplane. But there are many gadgets and everything moves so you can easily adjust it.”

During the last year Hayley took part in a Young Survivors project, which supports survivors of sexual abuse aged 13-25.

She went through a course teaching her how to help people recover from being abused in childhood.

She said: “I was abused when I was a child and that is why I am supporting the cause.”

Hayley has got a ‘Young Survivors’ sticker in front of her lorry and when she retires she wants to engage more in supportting survivors.

She said: “I want to help more people because I know that straightening your life takes a lot if you've been abused as a child.”