Bradford’s Joe Cullen slipped to an agonising fourth consecutive PDC World Championship first-round defeat at Alexandra Palace tonight.

He went down 3-0 against world No 16 Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright to add to his previous losses to Terry Jenkins, twice, and John Part.

He came up against an in-form Wright – whose freshly-dyed multi-coloured hair, shirt and trousers outshone many of the fancy dress-goers in the audience.

A 13-dart finish from Wright in the opening leg illustrated the uphill task facing Cullen but it was by no means plain sailing for the favourite, with 23-year-old Wyke pro Cullen – a 400-1 shot for the title – showing his mettle with a brilliant 147 finish to level the score in the first set at two legs apiece.

Wright pinched the set though – averaging 100 – when the fifth leg once again went with the darts.

Wright produced the first break of throw in the first leg of the second set but Cullen followed suit. A third consecutive break set Wright up to eventually take the set 3-1.

The Lowestoft player was pegged back to 2-1 in the third set by Cullen before a superb 151 finish completed a straight-sets victory.