Air guitarist on top of world

A Japanese man has won the Air Guitar World Championship for the second consecutive year. Ochi Yosuke received the highest score from a panel of judges in the final at the Teatria rock club in Oulu, near the Arctic Circle, in northern Finland.

Apart from the glory, he received a custom-made Flying Finn electric guitar worth £1,700.

The surprise of the qualifying round was Oulu native Hilkka 'Gore Kitty' Suvanto, who had twice before scored the lowest points ever, but who achieved a perfect six from many of the judges.

However, it was Ochi who impressed the judges the most in the final showdown, ahead of Guillaume 'Moche Pitt' de Tonquedec, of France, and Austria's Max 'Herr Jaquelin' Heller.

"It's great. We've seen all the nations, united nations, 'rocking on the free world' and that's good, that's great," said de Tonquedec.