A SELF-PORTRAIT by an eight-year-old autistic schoolboy has gone on show at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Melksham schoolboy Oliver Fulluck was the youngest winner in Channel 4's Self Portrait UK competition.

He attended a star-studded launch with his proud parents and grandparents in London to see his work and 100 other pictures unveiled.

Oliver, who attends the Queensway Centre for children with autism, beat over 5,000 entrants in the contest, which was launched at the end of last year.

Teacher Karen Pigott said: "We were overjoyed for him. They had to peel me off the floor when I heard the news. It is such a prestigious venue.

"I got some of the pupils to enter because I thought it would be nice if some of the paintings made it to local libraries.

"I told them to draw things they liked and Oliver said he liked his friends and dinosaurs." Ms Pigott, who also attended the launch, said fame has not gone to the youngster's head.

"When I told him he had won he was very critical of his work and said he didn't think the tyrannosaurus rex in the picture was quite right," she said. "I think he is a bit of a perfectionist.

"The picture had something enchanting about it. I spoke to one of the organisers and they said the picture showed a level of concentration that others they had seen didn't have.

"That is quite incredible considering Oliver is autistic and concentration is something these children find quite hard."

The Self-Portrait UK exhibition will tour Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and Belfast.

Twelve entrants had their work shown in a series of Channel 4 programmes shown over Easter.

A larger exhibition showing thousands of entrants is being planned for 2004.