Seven-year-old Martha Gibson officially has the world's loudest clap.

Her record-breaking feat of clapping at 73 decibels has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records.

Her parents, Tina and Stuart, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, had noticed there was no entry for the world's loudest clap.

"Martha often turns heads when she claps," said Mrs Gibson, a part-time bank worker. "Stuart just said, 'Well, there's got to be a place for our Martha there'."

Jill Collier, environmental protection officer at Harrogate Borough Council, recorded the world's official loudest clap at Martha's home

She said: "Martha is a lovely little girl who is quite shy and quiet.

"It is amazing that something so loud can come out of someone so small and quiet."

Janet Davies, headteacher at Oatlands Infant School, Harrogate, said: "We had Martha to the front of assembly for a clapping competition with the teachers. Martha, I'm proud to say, was the clear winner."

Martha has an older brother, Seamus, nine, and a sister, Florence, who is three.

Their father is a teacher in Yarm, near Stockton.