A fireman won a new £16,000 Mercedes - by kissing it for 56 hours!

Keith Flynn, 28, of Eves Crescent, Chelmsford, puckered up to beat five other contestants in a marathon car kissing contest.

They were given a ten-minute break every hour during the Essex FM Kiss It To Win It competition, but had to keep going, even through the night.

He said his success was down to what he ate: "I ate a special diet of McDonald's, chocolate and Lucozade and smoked cigarettes. Whist the others were lying down in the break, I was standing up, chatting and smoking a cigarette."

Finally, the winner was decided with ten tie-break questions.

Mr Flynn, a father of three, answered eight out of ten correctly, winning himself the Mercedes 160 Avant at the Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock.

He said: "When it came down to the questions, I was convinced I had lost it. I knew I would have to guess."

Mr Flynn, who is now on holiday from his job as a Basildon firefighter, said: "I am well chuffed. It means I'll be able to get rid of my old Sierra."

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