MOST people's spare time is spent down the local sports field, or watching T.V.

But Bury man Thomas Keenan has a rather different hobby that involves working in his garage and creating a monster.

No need for panic though, as the 43-year-old, of Renshaw Drive, has not created the next Frankenstein but instead a massive 10 ft high and 3 ton, 4x4 pick-up truck.

And at the weekend Thomas, married, with three children, was rewarded for his 20 years of hard work by coming second at a massive European truckshow.

It was the third time that the trained mechanic had entered his homemade Mark 1 Toyota truck for the prestigios 4x4 Pick-Up event at the annual Yorkshire Truck Fest, in Diffield. There, trucks are judged on their overall appeareance and standard of engineering, but with more than 40 entrants from all over Europe competing for the honours, Thomas was not confident of success.

But after wowing the crowds with his monster truck, he was delighted to finish a very close second.

He said: "Because of the size and power of the trucks it was an absolutely amazing event. It is a brilliant achievment and I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported me."

Thomas also paid tribute to Stuart Mills, of Bury-based Star Auto Recovery, who provided him with free use of the recovery vehicle, without which he would be unable to attend his shows.

From here, he hopes to be get his massive truck onto the roads.

When this happens drivers in Bury should beware.