Paul WIllis:day's shopping

A man who lost his job for the sake of a bizarre competition was jubilant today after being declared a £5,000 winner.

Paul Willis, 25, spent an entire month in a Volkswagen Golf in the Monks Cross shopping centre car park, York.

He had been allowed out for just ten minutes every two hours to feed and wash himself, and his evening meal was provided daily by the centre's branch of Burger King.

Adjudicators watching for cheating 24 hours a day even woke Paul and three fellow contestants regularly through the night to change the seating arrangements in the car.

Paul eventually saw off the others, who could not take the pace - and he made headlines after losing his job with Jewson's of Driffield because he had not booked the first week of the competition off work.

Today an overjoyed Paul had the last laugh when he received a cheque for £5,000 - and revealed the cash could be the key to a new career.

He plans to use some of his winnings to gain his Class II HGV licence and look for work after his success in the challenge set by radio station Viking FM.

The radio station pitted two cars full of entrants against each other a month ago. One car was in York, the other in Hull.

The other two remaining contestants, in Hull, also won £5,000 because the competition organisers were so impressed that all three were still in place.

Receiving his cheque from DJ Joel Ross, a tearful Paul, from Bridlington, said: "I can't believe it - I'd like to thank my girlfriend, mum and dad and everybody I know who has supported me. It was absolutely great."

Afterwards Paul and his "over the moon" girlfriend Sam Bentley enjoyed a hard-earned day's shopping with his £5,000 winnings.

Nick said: "The worst thing about it was being away from Sam and not being able to eat properly.

"I'm not bothered that I lost my job. If they offered me it back today I still wouldn't take it."

He added: "When I was told it was over I was so excited that my legs turned to jelly and I nearly fell over when I got out the car.

"It was definitely worth it in the end but it would have to be a least a couple of years before I would even think about doing it again.

"If I see another VW Golf at the moment I'd be tempted to take a sledgehammer to it."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.