A cartoonist plans to hold the UK's first national jigsaw championship in a garden centre.

Contestants will try to complete a 3,000-piece jigsaw in three hours.

Organiser Mike Jupp hopes his JIGit event this summer will become an annual event.

Mike is a best-selling cartoon jigsaw creator but said he had never heard of a national competition before.

Mike, 56, from Bognor, said: "This is a hobby that has been enjoyed for almost 200 years by a vast number of people.

"There have been Scrabble championships, chess championships, marbles, tiddlywinks, Monopoly and even boot-throwing championships. But as far as we know, there has never been a national puzzle championship.

"If this is handled correctly it could eventually be a big event with regional finals culminating with a grand final in Sussex.

"Jigsaws originated out of espionage and cut-up naval maps. Then someone decided to interlock them.

"The heyday was in the Twenties and intrinsically they haven't really changed since then."

He said Manor Nursery in Runcton, Chichester, was an ideal location for a jigsaw competition and the owners were keen to stage it.

He said: "There's a huge area of tables surrounded by palm trees and flowers and it's all under cover so it's a perfect place for the championship.

"There's also a large marquee we could use if needed."

Mike, who has also created children's television programmes, designed his first picture puzzle, I Love London, while waiting for one of the shows to be made in the early Eighties.

He said it took about three months to complete a design.

Mike added: "Wet summers are good for sales because everyone stays inside hotels and caravans doing jigsaws."

For more information, log on to www.mikejupp.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?TopicID=380.

For an entry form, email tom@manornursery.com