YORK office worker Dominic Bull, above, is preparing for the journey of a lifetime - to Middle Earth - after beating off 10,000 other entries to scoop a two-week trip to New Zealand in a nationwide Lord Of The Rings: Two Towers competition.

Dominic, a software tester for Holgate-based CPP, will go to New Zealand to see the film locations used for the second instalment of JRR Tolkien's classic.

He entered the competition at the Ster Century Cinema in Leeds, but can now look forward to hot air ballooning, jet boat rides, a steamship cruise, penguin watching and walking.

"I couldn't believe it when I was told I'd won this amazing trip," he said. "The only thing I'd ever won before was a box of chocolates!"

Updated: 08:20 Monday, February 17, 2003