A former footballer once fooled on live TV into believing he had been into space has relaunched his bid to become Croydon's first astronaut.

Billy Jackson was one of four contestants who embarked on a fake mission on Channel 4 show Space Cadets in 2005.

The former Croydon Athletic footballer believed he was in space as part of the sham show and had no idea he was actually stuck inside a simulator somewhere in Suffolk.

Now the 32-year-old electrician who lives in Forestdale, has entered a competition run by deodorant brand Lynx, which could see him board the Lynx Space Expedition Corporation space shuttle and become one of 21 winners from around the globe to make the giant leap into space.

Mr Jackson said he entered the competition in the hope he will have the last laugh.

He said: "Ever since I was on the show any chance my mates get they take the mick out of me, I didn't leave the house for three weeks!

"I thought if you genuinely have the opportunity especially after what happened, I might as well give it a go."

To get through to the next stage of the competition Mr Jackson needs to be voted into the top 200 candidates, which will allow him to qualify for the Lynx Space Academy challenge weekend.

The four strongest candidates will then be flown to Orlando, Florida, to complete a final series of astronaut challenges.

Mr Jackson said: "I want people to vote for me so I can go to space for real, I think it is the least people can do. It literally takes two seconds to rectify the wrong from years ago!"

To vote for Billy visit www2.axeapollo.com/en_GB/15710/billy-jackson