Does Penryn have the steepest street in the world?

That is the question being posed by a man who read a national newspaper story which stated that a town in Wales lays claim to the title.

Jon Barber told the Packet: "An article in The Guardian discusses a claim from a Welsh town that the world's steepest street is located there, rather than in the currently officially recognised Baldwin Street, Dunedin, New Zealand.

"Having visited Baldwin Street in 1996, I was always interested to know if the cul-de-sac off Polsthow - I think that is the correct street - in Penryn is not steeper." 

The Guiness Book of Records is actively comparing Baldwin Street with the one in Harlech, in North Wales, where residents claim Ffordd Pen Llech has a gradient of 36 per cent.

That would be one degree steeper than the Kiwi town's street, which has been measured at 35 per cent.

But while towns in Wales and New Zealand squabble over whose street is the steepest, Mr Barber is urging someone local to Penryn to take some measurements.

He added: "My parents lived for many years in Penryn, so I took a couple of photos to compare them myself - the result looks pretty close to me.

"My own view is that the street in Penryn is indeed steeper, but I always assumed it would need to be much longer to qualify as the 'steepest street in the world'.

"From the article in The Guardian, I have learned that it only needs to be 10 metres long."

Guinness World Records sets out a definition for the steepest street.

It is based on its maximum gradient over a ten metre span, comparing the vertical rise to the horizontal distance.

The street or road is also defined as a public thoroughfare that is commonly used by the public, who are able to drive vehicles on it.