A trip to London's Marlborough Street cost Chelmsford IT expert David Gatheral the crown in the British Monopoly Championships.

The 31-year-old games enthusiast landed on the orange property on the property-trading game, losing him £950 and the final of last weekend's tournament.

Held on HMS Belfast, the championship is a four-yearly event with a prize of £5,000 and the chance to represent Britain in the World Championships in Tokyo.

From a starting group of 64 players, each competing in games of four, David whittled off his opponents and reached the final round, held outdoors on the battleship's quarter deck.

But despite a good start, he ended up losing to Adie Prince, a 19-year-old Derbyshire student, in a nail-biting conclusion after six hours on the board.

Using his lucky battleship piece, David's tournament tactics initially involved buying up orange properties. Unfortunately, he reckoned without Adie's devastating onslaught in the final.

County council employee David, who lives with girlfriend Clare Orm in Hayes Close, explained: "It was a really good day. You've got to be pretty lucky to get to the final, but I kept my head down and was polite to the other players so they didn't stitch me up.

"I went exactly with the tactics I'd planned, and bought up all the oranges, but in the final I traded one orange card for a green, a red, a pink and a station, which I thought was a good deal, but it meant Adie had the set and that eventually cost me the game."

David walked away with a trophy, and a reserve place on the Tokyo trip, but hopes to return for a rematch in 2008.

Published Friday September 10, 2004

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