YORK'S champion brickie Nigel Goodwin was hoping to make it three in a row when he took on all comers in the race for the title of Bricklayer of the Year today.

A coveted silver trowel and £300 in prize money was up for grabs when Nigel squared up to 14 of the region's top bricklayers in St Sampson's Square.

He was hoping to build upon his previous wins in 1996 and 1997 to cement the hat-trick.

The competitors had 60 minutes to build a small feature wall to impress the team of expert judges from the construction industry.

Nigel, who has been bricklaying since he was 17, believes the secret of good bricklaying is to have a good teacher, in his case Eric Todd, of Huntington. Nigel's wife, Janice, 10-year-old son Shaun and daughter Amanda, who is 18, were on hand to support him in his hat-trick attempt.

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Derek Smallwood, acted as an independent judge for the day in the competition run by Malton-based Harrison Construction.

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