Reclusive poet wins £60,000 prize

Poet Gillian Allnutt scoops £60,000 after winning a literary contest

A reclusive County Durham teacher who lives without a television or washing machine has scooped one of the UK's most lucrative literary prizes.

Gillian Allnutt has been awarded £60,000 after winning the Northern Rock Foundation's Writer's Award.

The 56-year-old of Esh Winning, who enjoys her quiet life in a miner's cottage, received her prize for her poems about the life of her mother.

She plans to spend the cash on a new roof and computer and write full-time.

The Cambridge graduate, who chose her lifestyle so she could concentrate on writing, said: "There are one or two practical things I'll be looking at like buying a new roof and a new computer.

'Richer place'

"But really I'll be using the money just to live on. I want to live in a more civilised manner and to have more time for people."

The award, now in its fourth year, is open to published authors living in the North East and Cumbria.

Fiona Ellis, director of Northern Rock Foundation, said: "Gillian is one of the most original poets writing in the UK today.

"If this award helps her in any way to concentrate on her writing, then the world of literature will be a far richer place."

Ms Allnutt, who will receive her prize money over three years, was honoured at a ceremony at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.

She has already published six collections of her work.