A HUMBLE can of baked beans proved to be the ideal hangover cure for a Swindon man, who has scooped a new £150,000 house.

Philip King, 44, from Stratton St Margaret, was feeling a bit worse for wear when he stopped at a shop near Hastings in East Sussex to buy a can of Heinz beans and aspirin to settle his stomach.

Father-of-three Mr King, who was at a rock weekend with friends last month, is the first winner of the giveaway, which sees four homes up for grabs.

He said: "When I opened the can I saw a small golden house inside. I didn't know what to make of it at first but then I saw the label and it said 'Win a Home'.

"I wondered if I had sobered up properly. I couldn't believe it, to be honest I've never won anything before."

Wife Tina, 45, a teaching assistant at Mountford Manor Primary School in Walcot, was thinking exactly the same, when her husband phoned her to break the news.

She said: "When he phoned me I told him that he hadn't sobered up properly.

"I was waiting for him to tell me which one of his mates had wound him up."

The couple, who currently live in a three-bedroom semi with son Dale, 20, now have to decide which house they want and what they will do with it.

The four up for grabs are in Hinckley in Leicestershire, Portishead in North Somerset, Stowmarket in Suffolk and Haywards Heath in West Sussex.

As the houses are yet to be built, the Kings have yet to decide which one they will choose or what they will do with it.

Mr King, who is a mobile truck mechanic covering an area from Newbury to London, said Portis-head was probably favourite at the moment.

Mrs King said: "But we haven't definitely decided anything yet, we are both still trying to take it all in.

"We still don't believe that it's happened. It's surreal. We're only just believing that it's for real and there's no catch. We expected to be told that we've been entered into a special prize draw."

Heinz spokesman Angus Peterson said: "We're delighted Phil has won the first house. It just goes to show that anyone, anywhere, could win a house at any time."

The remaining prizes can be found in cans of Heinz soups, beans and spaghetti.

kevin Shoesmith