JANUARY 21, 2003

A big story

Adrian Dawn of Beeston in Nottinghamshire has won a Jaguar Formula 1 car in a competition to find the sport's biggest enthusiast. But Dawn's problem is that he is too big a fan - because he cannot fit in the cockpit of the car. The 280 lb. Dawn is reportedly planning to diet to cut down his size so that he can clamber into the cockpit which was used by Eddie Irvine.

"There was no way my bum would fit in the seat," Dawn told The Sun newspaper. "All I can say is that Eddie Irvine must be a very small bloke. I'm actually on a diet now and have lost 70lbs, so I hope I'll be able to sit in my F1 car one day."

Dawn won his prize when he beat 15 other F1 fans in a simulator car race around Silverstone.

It is believed to be the first time that an F1 car has been given away in a competition.