KENT'S Paul Cartwright collected a top angling prize in Belgium after a mechanical problem turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Cartwright and the five other competitors on his boat were heading out to join the rest of the fleet in the North Sea Festival at Ostend when the boat's engine packed up leaving them stranded where they were.

Fortunately for the Herne Bay Angling Association chairman found himself over a shoal of whiting and he took full advantage to become the first English winner of the competition with 119 fish weighing 28 kilos.

The international festival attracted a field of 150 with Cartwright and the rest of the Herne Bay contingent being joined by anglers from Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and France.

Cartwright, who both manages and competes for the national sea angling team, admitted later that his success was not all entirely down to skill. He explained: "I was rather lucky because the charter boat we were on broke down. "The boats agree to fish a certain area and we were steaming down to join the others when the engine went kaput.

"We dropped anchor on the fringe of where the other boats were and I just happened to be in the right place."

Cartwright's victory was achieved using the renowned "Herne Bay spreader," a piece of equipment which comprises three wire booms which are worked mostly over slack water.

He said: "The spreader is well known throughout Europe where it is exported all over, but it takes a few years before you are properly proficient. The Belgians have their own tried and tested method of fishing and they tend to stick to that."

With five to score Bay just missed out on first place in the team event, falling seven points behind the winners, from Blankenberge, Belgium

The Bay scorers were Cartwright, Jim Pressley (13th), Kevin Woollams (26th),Nick Witton, and guest, Jim Whippy of Pevensey Bay, East Sussex. Another member of the party, Martin Phillips, from Deal, was sixth in the individual standings. The Bay party was completed by Trevor Hare and Richard Simes

Next year's world championships will be fished at Ostend and Cartwright believes the performance of the Bay anglers is cause for optimism. He added: "If the English team can put in this sort of performance in next year's world championships then we should be in with a very good chance of a medal."