A CONTEST to find the world’s biggest liar ended in allegations of cheating and racist abuse after a foreigner won for the first time.

Abrie Kruger, a South African, was subjected to a chorus of Rule Britannia and accused of cheating at the competition in West Cumbria.

Spectators at the World’s Biggest Liar contest, held at the Bridge Inn, Stanton Bridge, abused the winner for “not being Cumbrian”. Despite being open to competitors from all over the world, the contest has traditionally been the preserve of homegrown talent.

Competitors are required to make up tall tales for a panel of judges, who decide who is the most convincing liar.

John Graham, 65, a veteran winner of the contest, which began in 1974, claimed that Mr Kruger broke the strict rules by reading from a script while telling his lies and using props.

Mr Kruger, 24, won the competition with a tale about being crowned King of the Wasdale Valley. He told the audience that he planned to build a hotel at the top of Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak, and create the world’s fastest cable car up its side.

Mr Graham accused Copeland council, the organisers, of ruining the “ancient lying night” by selecting Mr Kruger as the winner. He said: “I must speak to show my personal disgust at the way that the council have allowed this once-great event to lose its stature.”

Mr Kruger said that he wrote his “script” by doing research in the area and denied cheating. “The people here gave me good ideas,” he added. A spokeswoman for Copeland council said that the contestants’ behaviour had been appalling and that the competition — held in memory of Will Kitson, a Cumbrian publican in the 19th century with a gift for telling tall stories — was open to all.

Last year George Kemp, a Cumbrian, won with a tale of how he rode a balsa wood motorcyle to victory at the Isle of Man TT race, stopping for advice from the Formula One driver Nigel Mansell, who was walking his dog on the course.

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