It's a hard job but someone had to do it. Pete Shannon is finally back in Brighton after completing his mission to find the world's best beach.

Brighton beach was first on the list of shorelines to survey after Pete, 26, beat 1,000 other hopefuls to win the trip of a lifetime.

Pete said: "Brighton beach doesn't come very high on the list for sandcastle building but it has a lot going for it - the nightlife is great and the shops are very near, which are all factors in judging the beaches."

Pete was offered the job after seeing "Professional beach bum" advertised on travel website Expedia.co.uk.

He said: "I had forgotten I had applied for it when they rang to tell me I was shortlisted.

"The interview was to make sure I wasn't going to arrive somewhere, actually become a beach bum and never come back with a decision."

A whistle-stop tour of the world's best beaches began in Brighton in February but Pete quickly moved on to warmer climes as he began his epic 39-flight, 54,000-mile journey.

The all-expenses-paid trip took him to Bondi beach and Fraser Island in Australia and beaches in New Zealand, Waikiki, Fiji, Daytona, Mauritius, Capetown, Kenya and the Seychelles.

Pete said: "It was quite frustrating sometimes because I would arrive somewhere and not have time to do any sightseeing apart from seeing the beach.

"When I got to New Zealand I had a chance to hire a car and go to see the incredible Big Tree, which at 2,000 years old is the oldest tree in the country.

"New Zealand has some fantastic scenery. Some of it looked like the South Downs and then you could turn a corner and you would be facing a huge sweeping bay."

He recalled a hairy moment when he was flown in a small plane to Fraser Island in Australia.

He said: "We went over the top of a hill and suddenly we were in dense cloud and couldn't see a thing.

"I could see the sweat forming on the pilot's forehead which was a bit worrying but we made it back safely."

Factors in judging the sunny spots included sand quality, sea life and water colour. But when it came to choosing his favourite beach, Pete remained undecided.

He said: "I tried to talk to as many locals as I could to find out what they thought. There were some which were good for families and others for honeymoons or for nightlife.

"It's very difficult to decide on a winner. The whole trip has actually made me want to explore more of Britain. It has made me realise that there are so many places to see which are only a day's trip away.

"Everyone thought I would come back with a bit more of a tan but I tried to explain that airport lighting doesn't make you tan particularly well.

"I was ready to come back because I was so jetlagged that everything going on around me seemed a bit surreal.

"If I had stayed much longer I would have been in no fit state to judge anything.

"But it was an amazing trip and it would have been very difficult not to have had a good time."

Expedia.co.uk will publish Pete's best beach report on their web site.