from yahoo
LONDON (AFP) - The "world's biggest liar" has been crowned, after
telling a tale about a German World War II submarine invading
Britain to capture digital television decoders.
John "Johnny Liar" Graham won the annual competition of tall tales,
which is held at the Bridge Inn in Santon Bridge, in the heart of
Britain's Lake District national park.
The 69-year-old claimed he stumbled across the U-boat as it
prepared a raid on the nearby town of Whitehaven, which has become
the first in Britain to switch from analogue to digital
television.
Graham, who has won the title five times before, also said he
caught a cod that was nine-foot (2.7-metres) long.
"It was a true story," Graham insisted to BBC radio Friday.
The event, which now draws tourists and competitors from around the
world, is a homage to a local pub owner called Will Ritson, who
regaled his regulars with shaggy dog stories in the 19th
century.
Among his claims were that turnips grown in the region were so big
people could live in them.
Recent winners have included one competitor who claimed the
mountainous Lake District was formed not by ice or volcanic action
but by large moles and eels. Another claimed to have discovered the
existence of mermaid farms.
Competitors have five minutes to tell the biggest fib without the
aid of props. Politicians and
lawyers are barred from entering as they are judged to be too
skilled at telling porkies.
