LOCAL newspapers unintentionally funny? Just what exactly is Phill Jupitus getting at? While attempting not to impeach the good name of the Daily Echo, he explains that local papers and their gaffes, idiosyncrasies and occasionally less than earth-shattering stories have become a rich new fund of comedy for his live shows.

"I try to get hold of a local paper wherever I go. Normally, you can get something good out of them, like a really stupid story. And the letters pages are a real scream: 'All ants should be burnt!'

"But it doesn't always work. I went to Aberystwyth and looked at three local papers and there was just nothing, absolutely nothing.

"Every story was just kind of dull and soul-destroying. They didn't even have anything about a fireman falling out of a tree trying to rescue a cat."

For Jupitus, who, like his hallowed contemorary Eddie Izzard, delights in free-wheeling and improvisation over an intensively rehearsed and polished routine, tomorrow's fish and chip wrappings are a vital source of ideas.

And the dullness of English provincial life, as - in some cases - epitomised by its regional press fits snugly into an act in which the gap between fantasy and reality has become something of a theme.

His failure to get to grips with modern technology is a good example.

"I'm quite reluctant where computers are concerned. You're supposed to be quite informed about them, but I'm not really.

"That's why the act is quite self-centred. You talk about what you know."

Jupitus made the leap to stand-up at the age of 21 after it was pointed out to him that his between-poems banter was actually funnier than the poems themselves.

In the last five years or so, Jupitus has become something of a mainstay on British TV, exercising his ready wit on everything from Never Mind the Buzzcocks to It's Only TV But I Like It.

But, unlike some of the younger competition, desperate for fame with the minimum of effort, Jupitus has only got where he is after years of blood, sweat and rubbish gags on the merciless comedy circuit. Along the way, he certainly hasn't made it easy for himself.

"Everything I do is born of improvisation," says Phill, who admits to being a quiet soul in real life, in sharp contrast to his ultra-sarcastic on-screen persona.

"If it's good, I'll remember it. Whenever I sit and write stuff, it dies on the stage.

"That's what makes good stand-up - it's my mind and my mind's take on things."

As someone who has worked long and hard for his success, Jupitus is, not surprisingly, dismissive of those comedy newcomers who expect instant fame.

"All the kids starting now think you just have to have 20 gags and win a competition. I went to see Barry Cryer last year, who could show them a thing or two. He started off as the warm-up for Monty Python and he's still

touring."

Jupitus, though, reckons he could give it all up tomorrow. But that doesn't mean he's going to.

"I could stop it tomorrow, quite seriously, but no one believes me. I don't feel a compulsion to do it.

"I found out I could do comedy and it's a life. It's also the most fun I've ever had."

Phill Jupitus, with support, is at Poole Arts Centre on November 12 at 8pm. Tickets cost £12, with concessions available. For more information, call the box office on 01202 685222.