Virtuoso violinist Ben Lee was hit by a truck in 2009 – leaving his musical career hanging in the balance.

But just three years later the 32-year-old has not only been named the fastest violin player in the world but also the fastest superhuman.

The Eastbourne musician, who has recently had his hands insured for £3 million, was called up to take part in a Discovery Channel documentary seeking to find the fastest human.

He was pitted against the likes of head spinner Aicho Ono, who can perform 135 head spins in one minute, speed eater Pete Czerwinski, who can gobble a 12 inch pizza in 34 seconds, and speed shooter Jerry Miculek who can fire eight rounds in 1.06 seconds.

But after a series of trials the now London-based musician was declared the fastest by a team of scientists.

Professor Greg Whyte, who earlier this year trained David Walliams to swim the River Thames for charity, said: “Through dedicated and long- term practice, Ben is able to devote larger portions of his brain to a task.

“Ben bows with his right hand, which means that his left cortex should be utilised more than his |right.

“However, with the focus and control he uses with his left hand, Ben has developed a greater proportion of his right cortex, giving him powerful dexterity and the ability to play at 810 notes per minute.”

Challenged The musician was timed to play a note-perfect version of the classic Flight of the Bumblebee.

Experts said the frantic fiddler managed an incredible 58.05 seconds.

He said: “Following my accident I was in a very dark place. It was touch and go as to whether I would be able to play again and I was getting very down.

“My friend challenged me to try and break the world record and that gave me the drive and incentive to continue to play despite the pain.

“I felt like I was an athlete training for an event, it was great.”

The thousands and thousands of hours of practice have helped Ben break the world record an incredible four times.

He also plays in a violin rock band, Fuse, with friend Linzi Stoppard, the daughter-in-law of playwright Tom Stoppard.

He added: “I was tested a great deal for the show and had a very good reaction speed.

“For example I’m very quick at programming on my computer.

“A cool thing happened in the summer.

“Because of my quick ear-to-hand coordination I managed to catch a mosquito buzzing around in pitch black darkness.”

To hear Ben play, visit his band’s website: www.fuseofficial.com.

See the latest news headlines from The Argus:

More news from The Argus

Follow @brightonargus

The Argus: Daily Echo on Facebook - facebook.com/southerndailyecho Like us on Facebook

The Argus: Google+ Add us to your circles on Google+