A fatherand son are to take the trip of a lifetime after winning a contest in a national newspaper.

Boxing fanatic Peter Walton, 46, will jet off to New York tonight after winning the Daily Mirror sports page competition.

After two nights in the Big Apple, he will fly to Foxwoods Casino, Connecticut, to watch a title fight between WBO lightweight champion Naseem Hamed and American Augie Sanchez.

And as his travelling companion, Peter chose his 69-year-old father, Ronald.

Father-of-three Peter, of Anchor Reach, South Woodham Ferrers, runs the Take A Break cafe - which is packed with boxing memorabilia - in Southchurch Road, Southend.

He said: "I was just sitting down and having a cup of tea with my wife, Julie, when I saw the competition and decided to ring up. When they phoned up to tell me I'd won I thought they were joking.

"Then I phoned my dad, who's a coach for the Amateur Boxing Association, to ask him if he wanted to come and he was nearly crying!"

The prize is especially welcome after a run of bad luck for the family - Peter's cafe was gutted in a fire last May, and Ronald was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Peter added: "We're back up to par again now, and this is a nice bit of luck for us."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.