My husband is Britain’s dullest man – he spent five days trying to unlock a mystery padlock
A DETERMINED dad spent five days cracking the code to a mystery padlock — with pals branding it Britain’s dullest hobby.
Daley Beckett, 42, found the security device in the street outside his gym and became fixated with the possible four-figure combinations.
He started at 0000 the next day and worked on it when free.
Wife Lucy, 46, was driven crazy by his clicking so hid the padlock in a locked box.
But Daley soon picked that open and carried on.
Lucy eventually sent him to the pub with his hobby so she could watch TV.
Pals mocked Daley but he had the last laugh, and peace of mind, when he revealed 8567 was the answer.
The dad of three, from Bedford, said: “As soon as I saw this lock, I knew I needed to open it, even though there was nothing attached to it. It was like a primal instinct.
“I knew if I started at 0000 and worked my way up.
“I began by just doing it in the evenings but it became an obsession. I’d get in half an hour before breakfast, sneak in some tries on the school run, while bathing the kids, and then settle down to hours of code-cracking at night.
“When I got to 8,000 I did worry I’d missed a number and would have to start again.”
Daley, who works as a media monitor, netted £200 for charity by auctioning the padlock on eBay.
He has also dedicated himself to cracking combination padlocks via the Facebook page Stay Locky.
Daley says he has been inundated with requests including one client with a briefcase locked since his grandad died decades ago.