£50,000 prize Jaguar gets the new year off to a good start {{favouriteCount}}

After an extravagant Christmas most Islanders wouldn't mind a few spare pounds to get them through January.

But Thomas Gunning got much more than that when he woke up yesterday morning to find a £50,000 Jaguar, £20,000 in cash and a camera crew outside his front door.

The 21-year-old St Helier resident, who recently moved to the Island from Salcombe with his girlfirend, Abbie Scandrett (23), won the prize after taking part in an online competition.

He now intends to keep the car and use a small portion of the money to go on a weekend break while keeping the rest as a 'safety cushion'.

Mr Gunning said: "They called my girlfriend, who is a nurse in St Helier, and she had to keep it a secret. Then this morning, she told me that there was a parcel for me and to come downstairs. When I got there, there was a camera crew and a Jaguar parked up.

'I was fairly sure what was happening but I just thought, "This cannot be true".'

The barista added that he had taken part in a competition organised by BOTB, which holds weekly draws for luxury vehicles.

He said: 'I have been playing online on and off for quite a few years now. I had seen videos of people winning but I never thought it would happen to me. I probably spend about £100 a year on it.'

'It's such an amazing car. I have got a BMW 1 series at the moment and I think I am going to sell that. It is five times the value of my one - it's quite a step up.'

Back to Homepage 22 Nov 2021