But the only assets 34-year-old Darren King, has got his eyes on are the £1,000 of prize money up for grabs.

Darren, of Wentworth Drive, Pound Hill, is one of seven finalists in the Watt Watchers Challenge and will spend 90 days cutting down on his 'energy wasteline' by saving as much power as possible.

He signed up to the contest when he was looking to buy an electricity monitor for his home and saw it advertised on the website of power company E.ON.

"I thought, I'll have a go at that," he said. "I couldn't believe it when they called me up and asked if I was still interested.

"I started looking into it because my electricity bills are quite a lot higher than a lot of other people.

"Working in IT I spend a lot of time in front of the computer whether at home or at work."

Now he and girlfriend Fiona Hankinson are having shorter showers, using energy-saving light bulbs, and turning off all their lights when they're not in a room.

But they'll face tough competition from celebrity TV presenter Melinda, who has also signed up to the contest.

The former glamour model and mum-of-three is also bent on cutting her energy bill.

"I think we can beat her," said Darren.

For the full story see this week's Crawley Observer.