Andy Green, the British daredevil driver taking on his own record in the Bloodhound, sent the group an e-mail thanking them for their support. “I’ll look out for Newbold on the fin!” he said.

Cub leader Colette Inman said: “It was a really good night, they all had a fab time. All the children got to have a go and they had a competition for the fastest time.”

The chance to drive over 1,000mph was not only popular with the kids: “We had 24 Cubs, and quite a lot of dads as well, and a few of the Scouts too,” said Colette.

As well as driving the simulator, the Cubs also built balloon model cars out of balsa wood and raced those.

The evening was part of the Bloodhound project’s commitment to promoting engineering and technology in schools and youth organisations.

The night was several months in the planning, and as Colette said: “We are always looking for different ideas for Cub evenings.”

The current land-speed record is 763mph and is held by Andy Green in the ThrustSSC. Andy is the driver hoping to smash his own record in the Bloodhound at a track in South Africa later this year.