Daniel Baraniuk, an unemployed 27-year-old from Gdansk, collected around ?14,813 for winning the World Pole-Sitting Championship.

He also hopes to secure a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, although the feat still needs verification.

Ten competitors mounted their 2.5-metre poles at Heidepark in the northern town of Soltau on May 15.

They were allowed to leave their 60-by-40-centimetre seats every two hours for 10 minutes.

Mr Baraniuk, whose closest rival fell off his pole in October, said he gave up because of boredom as the number of visitors to the park dropped with falling temperatures.