Fire engine by day, £75,000 BMW by night – hero fireman’s burning desire granted {{favouriteCount}}

He once hit the headlines for saving a puppy shortly after beginning his career as a fireman – and now the 27-year-old hero is firing on all cylinders after winning a brand new BMW worth £75,000 plus a £50k cash prize from a £2 ticket.

Connor Gow, from Middlesex, has won an incredible BMW M3 – with a whopping £50,000 stashed in the boot – thanks to online competitions company BOTB.

With a top speed of 155mph and 503 brake horsepower, this top-of-the-range BMW will be sparking a whole new kind of joy to that of the huge fire engine he drives every day at work.

The young winner, who has worked for London Fire Brigade for around two years, said he was speechless when BOTB presenter Christian Williams turned up on his Northwood doorstep to surprise him – https://www.botb.com/winners/dc2621/

Connor, who currently lives with his parents, now plans to use the £50,000 cash to buy his first house with girlfriend of two years Lucy – something they’d previously been unable to do due to a lack of funds.

“I’m just absolutely speechless,” said Connor, who is based at Ruislip Fire Station.

“I’ve seen videos of people winning before, so it was a bit like opening the door to someone I knew when Christian turned up – but I never expected to win myself.”

Connor was in the press back in 2019 when he saved a puppy who had become stuck after going down a foxhole. He and the fire crew searched in the dark for two hours, able to hear a distant whimpering, and eventually dug him out and returned puppy Darcy to his delighted owner.

“If they hadn’t found her she would not be alive. She was stuck,” her owner Vicki Galli told local news outlet MyLondon at the time.

And though Connor was delighted to be able to help, he maintains his proudest moment was the day he achieved his childhood dream – of becoming a firefighter.

According to his mum Toni, Connor would pretend he was driving a fire engine as a toddler with his toy steering wheel in the back of the car – and would forever keep his eyes peeled for fire stations they may pass on their travels.

Connor, who before winning the BOTB competition, drove a Fiesta ST in his spare time, says he’s planning to take his new BMW everywhere – and can’t wait to make his station colleagues jealous with the stunning new motor, as well as taking 23-year-old girlfriend Lucy away for the weekend in it.

“When I broke the news of the win to my girlfriend, I was on Facetime – and I genuinely thought the screen had frozen, as she was unable to move or speak from the shock,” laughed Connor.

“We’re just over the moon.”

Back to Homepage 22 Nov 2021