A Hexham man has described his 'disbelief' after he miraculously won two cars worth a combined total of £80,000 over Christmas.
Shaun Elliot, 52, had a festive period to remember after he entered online car raffle competitions 7 Days Performance and Storm Competitions earlier this month and defied the odds to become the proud owner of two high performance motors.
The machine operator from Acomb bought six tickets at 79 pence each on the 7 Days Performance website, landing himself a high-performance Mercedes AMG CLA in the draw that followed.
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His luck did not end there, however, as just days later he was basking in glory once more as he became the proud owner of an Audi Q7 following the Storm Competitions draw.
Shaun had been entering draws throughout the year but all his luck seemingly came at once over the holiday season.
He revealed that he initially thought the operator was joking when he received a call from 7 Days Performance to inform him that he had won.
He said: "I've seen the draws before on Facebook and such like and in the last year or so, if I've had a spare five or ten quid, I've stuck it on.
"I was never really thinking I'd win but was hoping! The first one, I stuck a fiver on a car which was a Porsche on the same website but I saw the draw for the Mercedes and it was 79p per ticket so I thought I'd stick six tickets on to take everything up to a tenner in all.
"I did that and low and behold I won it. I got a phone call on the Sunday night and I didn't believe the guy, I thought it was somebody joking.
"We did laugh on the phone and he did say he'd be in touch tomorrow. At that point I did then think- 'oh my God, I have actually won a car!'."
"I then came home and told my wife and, of course, she didn't believe me, the kids didn't believe me- nobody believed me," Shaun laughed.
Two days later, Shaun was in the pub talking to his friends about his lucky win and bought a ticket for another daw while he was showing them how to enter.
Unbelievably, by the next morning he had again defied the odds to become the owner of, this time, an Audi Q7.
He explained: "Two days later I was in the pub again, funnily enough telling my friends about the car and a notification came on my phone from the Storm website saying there was a draw in two hours.
"So I was talking it through with my pal, saying how easy it is [to enter] and in the process bought myself a ticket.
"This time, I came home and went to sleep, thinking nothing of it. I woke up to go to work the next morning and had two missed calls and messages on my phone telling me to get in touch.
"I couldn't believe it. Within two days they were here to deliver the car and a day later we drove down Norwich to pick up the other one!"
Following his winnings Shaun says he has been, quite simply, 'absolutely buzzing'. He says seeing the reaction from his wife and children in the days since has been an 'amazing experience'.
And, having been saving up for a car anyway, their good fortune has come at exactly the right time.
Shaun said: "It's been crazy. Everything's just happened so fast- our feet don't seem to have touched the ground. It's so unbelievable. Everyone's just absolutely buzzing and it's been an amazing experience."
"My wife and kids have been completely blown away; we all feel incredibly humble. We were actually planning on buying a car so it's actually saved us."
He revealed that he has since sold the Mercedes back to the car dealer but that the family plan to keep the Audi Q7 which he describes in glowing terms.
He said: "We've sold the Mercedes back to the dealer but the Audi Q7 currently getting ceramic coating as we're going to keep it.
"With the Mercedes, it's not really an everyday driving [car]- it's an absolute beast, a supped up sports car. I couldn't sit in it for a long distance.
"It's a really nice car, don't get me wrong, but I'm a bit too old for the boy racer cars! I'm into more comfort than speed now.
"The Audi is another level of class, it's unbelievable. We had a Volkswagen Touareg before but the Audi Q7 is just another level of luxury, it's a beautiful car.
"I've not actually driven it that much as it's been in the shop for a week but I'll be picking it up shortly. For us, if we're going to keep it, we want to keep it right so that's why we've had the ceramic coating done and that sort of thing.
"It's a luxury car and it'll last us for years. We'll be keeping it for a long, long time!"
All things considered, Shaun said he feels incredibly grateful following his spell of good fortune and hasn't ruled out entering a similar draw next Christmas either!
He added: "I'm really grateful and it's not life-changing but it's given us a boost in the right direction and at the right time of year as well- it couldn't have been timed any better!
"I'll still have a punt if I see something nice and for next year, you never know- you've got to be in it to win it, as they say."
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