A JERICHO poet has claimed first place at a national poetry competition after getting the stamp of approval for his work from Jeremy Paxman.

Stephen Santus’s poem In a Restaurant was entered for the Forward Prize by a mystery fan.

And on Tuesday the 66-year-old was awarded first place in the Best Single Poem category at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s South Bank.

The poem, about the gestures made when asking for the bill in a restaurant, scooped him a cheque for £1,000.

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He said: “At first I was sure I hadn’t won because I was sat at the back of the hall but I think that was by mistake. When Jeremy Paxman said that one poem was different than the others and seemed to imply it had caught the attention of the judges I had an idea.

“Then he said it took an everyday gesture he used himself and I knew I had won.”


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