Match this for somerocking good fun

Brian Croucher (65), from Markfield in North Bersted, who retired with ill health as an electroplater at Lec Refrigeration nearly 30 years ago, has been making matchstick models pretty well ever since.

His latest masterpiece is about five feet tall, took around 110,000 matchsticks to make, and has taken him 18 months to complete.

Brian's matchstick modelling began in the 1980s when his first project was a 12 inch long motor launch which took 8,000 matches and six months to make.

Helped by his wife Hazel, Brian who was looking for a hobby, was egged on by his nephew who was making a house out of matchsticks and invited his uncle to take up the challenge and see who could finish first.

No prizes for guessing who won. Brian was well and truly hooked and has gone on to much bigger and better things.

Since then and getting on for 400,000 matchsticks later, he now also has a home that is filling up fast with his models.

A larger fishing boat measuring around 26 inches, followed his first model, which used 48,000 matchsticks and took another 18 months, before he produced a windmill which plays '˜Tulips from Amsterdam' and incorporates a trinket box.

A three-foot rocking horse, two working clocks '“ one a grandmother clock '“ have all been greeted with equal amounts of praise and incredulity.

But now he believes it's time to part with his prized collection and plans to sell them.

At about 7 for 10,000 matchsticks, the same as ordinary matches but without the sulphur head, Christmas, Father's Day birthdays and any other occasions provide no problems in the present buying department for his friends and relatives. To date he has used up to 400,000 matchsticks, but his latest model, a speaking Dalek is set to use more than half a million.