Fastet jigsaw solver from Sidmouth

SIDMOUTH jigsaw king John Dyson has been officially described as the fastest puzzle solver in Britain after completing an 18,000 piece puzzle in 286 hours.

Last week we highlighted his skill at finishing a four picture jungle scene, described as the hardest puzzle in the world to do.

After contacting manufacturers Ravensburger, the Herald was told his was "an exceptional achievement."

"We were delighted to hear Mr Dyson had completed Jungle Scenes. We know only of seven other people and one Olympic Rowing team in the UK who have actually persevered to complete this phenomenal challenge.

"It is an outstanding achievement for anyone to complete it, but to do it in only four months does take some dedication."

She said he would be receiving a certificate for his perseverance.

John, from Manor Road, who says he is nowhere near achieving a German student's 150 hours for the puzzle, puts his talent for puzzle solving down to a logical mind, patience and being able to detect clues in the puzzle that help with its construction.

"On the very first section I tried doing the border edge first, but soon gave it up as a bad job and started with the edge of the picture, which was a blur between the picture and border," he said.

He also detected vertical columns in the pictures and a line of jigsaw pieces that did not conform to the normal two lug, two hole design.

When John received the puzzle at Christmas he discovered it was in four separate bags - one for each picture.

Now he has finished it he is considering putting all the pieces in one bag to make its even harder to complete.

"I like a challenge," he said. "There are two other jigsaws in the range, one of four world skylines, including Sydney and the US, and I have not heard reports of anyone finishing it. There is a lot of sea and sky!

"I would like to better my time, that is going to be next year's challenge," said John, who has written, but never had published, a pamphlet on how to do jigsaws.