Star Trek lottery bid boldly goes nowhere

A replica of the Starship Enterprise sits on display with other props from the television series ''Star Trek'' during a press preview of the auction ''40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection'' at Christie's auction house in New York September 29, 2006. Lottery chiefs have turned down bizarre bids for grants to pay for everything from a replica of the Starship Enterprise to double-glazing in a private house.

LONDON (Reuters) - British lottery chiefs have turned down bizarre bids for grants to pay for everything from a replica of the Starship Enterprise to double-glazing in a private house.

The Star Trek fan hoped to recreate the spaceship from the science fiction series to provide a safe place for "lonely people" to meet, the National Lottery said on Friday.

One hopeful rang the funding helpline for money to buy a pub, while another wanted 500 pounds to respray his Ford Cortina.

The National Lottery revealed the 10 strangest requests for grants to raise awareness of the type of good cause it supports.

"Applicants will only get funding for projects that benefit the wider community," said Carole Souter, who chairs the Lottery Forum, a group made up of the chief executives of the bodies that award grants.

Here are the top 10 strangest requests for money:

1) To respray a Ford Cortina

2) Double-glaze a private house

3) Buy a pub

4) Publish evidence to prove Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton wrong

5) Set up a dinosaur farm

6) Fund dog toilets

7) Set up an insect museum

8) Pay off a filmmaker's debts

9) Make over a garden

10) Build a replica of the Starship Enterprise