Midlands man wins space race to land his dream mission as an astronaut

Oliver, who was brought up in Bridgnorth, is a chemical engineer for energy company E.On.

He's also one of only 23 lucky winners who will get to take a 90-minute round trip into space, with the chance to view the earth from a height of 103km.

The 25-year-old, originally from Bridgnorth, was named as one of the winners after undergoing a gruelling training session at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, which involved experiencing high G-force in a centrifuge, or rotating cabin, doing barrel-rolls and loops in a fighter and riding the so-called "Vomit Comet", a plane which offers potential astronauts the chance to experience the weightlessness of space in zero Gs.

He was one of just four finalists from the UK who got through to the final round in the USA and one of a total of 107 people from 61 different countries.

He said: "Going to spend the week in Florida was an amazing prize already. Me and the three other English guys said it was one of the best weeks of our lives. To get the flight on top is incredible."

Oliver was originally one of 87,000 fellow hopefuls who entered the competition to join the Lynx Space Academy.

After seeing an advert in a newspaper he decided to take part, having to get as many votes as possible from friends and family to get through to the next stage.

He said: "Lots of people have said they never would have entered because they didn't think they would get to win.

"But as soon as I saw it I thought: I have got to get as many votes as possible. I came up with loads of different ways to get people to vote. I've always wanted to be an astronaut."

After getting a whopping 1,200 votes to bring him into the top 250, in July this year he took part in a series of challenges to whittle the number down to a final four.

Oliver, who now lives in Malvern, is the only competitor from the UK who will be able to take part in the flight, which is scheduled to take place in late 2015.