A NORTH-EAST man believes he could be Britain's competition king after scooping more than 450 prizes.

John Taggart, 49, has won prizes worth nearly £50,000.

He has won two top-of-the-range cars, two years' supply of beer, seven bikes, two washing machines and a year's supply of Oxo cubes.

Mr Taggart, whose latest win was a pair of cinema tickets from The Northern Echo, won the cars, a Vauxhall Corsa and a Suzuki Gran Vitara 2.5 VX, from rival companies Pepsi and Coca Cola.

In another coincidence, the car registrations differed by only a single letter.

The father of three sons said some of his best prizes had been won in an attempt to provide for his family, and that he had had some incredible luck.

He said: "I remember our washing machine was really on its last legs, and I kept saying to my wife: 'I'll win one, just wait.' Of course, eventually I gave in and bought one and, sure enough, a week later we won one and then another a few weeks after that.

"Another time, my son needed a bike for his paper round and I thought: 'If I don't win one, I'll get him one for Christmas.' Anyway, I won one just two weeks before Christmas, and got another six and an exercise bike over the next 12 months."

Mr Taggart said he often forgot about competitions until a prize was brought to his door, often six months later. He still does not know which company gave him the year's supply of beer.

"Mind you," he said, "I can't even drink because I have to take drugs for my tinnitus. It ended up my lads would drink it with their mates while I was banished to the conservatory, so it did me no good."

The avid Middlesbrough supporter, who was once featured as "comper of the month" in a competition magazine, had a few tips for other competition addicts.

He said: "Competitions where you have to come up with a slogan are where you get the big prizes. They are also good because no one can be bothered to do them. I can tell you only rhyming ones win, but they have got to scan and flow properly.

"With postcard competitions, always get coloured ones, they stand out much better. Statistics show that you are likely to win five per cent of all prizes, but it might be your luck that they will all be T-shirt competitions."

The former steelworker, of Eston, near Middlesbrough, started entering competitions after he retired early ten years ago because of severe tinnitus.