A GIANTKILLING robot built in Cwmbran is preparing for its latest challenge - storming the Christmas toy charts.

Panic Attack, the winner of series two of hit BBC 2 show Robot Wars, has now been immortalised as a £9.99 action toy by Logistix Kids Retail.

Its builders, a father-and-son team, hope the mean machine will propel Harry Potter merchandise off the top of the Christmas stocking hit list and be the new blockbuster toy for 2001.

The remote-controlled warrior (which was also named series four Sumo Basho champion) was designed and constructed by Kim Davies from Aran Court in Thornhill, after his 12-year-old son Michael watched the first series and was desperate to have a go.

Mr Davies' daughter Sarah was then a Llantarnam Comprehensive pupil and knew that design and technology teacher Kevin Pritchard was also interested.

He joined the team, later defecting to build his own robot Evil Weevil with his pupils, but staying in touch to swap ideas and advice.

The Davies pair went on to compete in every series, including the forthcoming series five, which has already been filmed and is due to hit our screens next month.

Their notoriety has taken them to Las Vegas and San Francisco to compete in the US version Battle Bots and they regularly appear with other roboteers at events.

Team captain Mr Davies, 39, a maintenance mechanic at Cwmbran tie manufacturer Frank Theak and Roskilly, said: "We have been doing this for four years and we have e-mails from all over the world. It started as a bit of fun and to see something we built come out as a toy is remarkable."

Michael said: "The toy is wicked. It's a bit tall, but I would buy one."

For series five the pair modified the yellow-and-black automaton which specialises in ramming and overturning opposition.

Presenter Philippa Forrester returns to replace comic Craig Charles for the new series, but the Cwmbran team would not reveal whether they managed to bring home another trophy.

However, they plan to build an entirely new machine for series six and launch a Welsh Robotics Association.

* Panic Attack is just one of a series of figures hitting the shelves, including Robot Wars' house robots such as Sir Killalot and Shunt.

* In the picture: Kim and Michael Davies with their Panic Attack robot.