Two work colleagues for an IT company who cracked the clues to a buried treasure competition have given away their prize to a complete stranger in an incredible random act of kindness. The prize — a new Fiat car.
Alex Rawson and Danny Lane had decided to enter the competition — a nationwide treasure hunt requiring participants to decipher clues to find the whereabouts of a set of car keys that had been buried somewhere in the UK. The clues to their location were released on Tuesday, October 18, and took the form of three puzzles that would reveal the precise location of the keys using the what3words app.
Upon deciphering the clues and learning that the keys were buried around 100 miles south of them in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, the pair decided that rather than make the lengthy journey with the prospect of someone else getting there first, they would try to help someone close to the buried treasure win the car instead. A twist of fate led them to Simon Muirhead, the owner of a roofing company.
The Stretford-based colleagues who work for RM Education had seen details of the unique treasure hunt launched by Scrap Car Comparison, a website that connects people wanting to get rid of scrapped or damaged cars with those wanting to buy them, in the weeks leading up to the date the vital clues were revealed and planned to win the Fiat for themselves.
Mr Rawson, 51, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, said: “We looked at the location on Google Maps and saw there was a business nearby called RM Roofing. As we work for a company called RM Education ourselves, this felt like fate, so we called the number on their website and got through to Simon.
"After convincing him we weren’t prank callers and texting over the details on the Scrap Car Comparison website, we stayed on the phone while he made his way to the nearby location of the keys, and tried to help him find exactly where they were.
"The moment he found them we were celebrating together. It felt so good to spread some good fortune and play a part in making someone’s day. We’re over the moon to have helped someone get a brand-new car.”
Mr Muirhead, 40, from Bearley in Warwickshire, beat almost 3,000 entrants who tried to decipher the clues. Some of the participants had travelled from as far afield as Sheffield, Birmingham and Leicester in an attempt to claim the car first. Mr Muirhead said: “I can’t quite believe it. I was just about to leave for work and I had a call from an unknown number, then the next thing I know they’re talking me through how to find the keys to a brand new car. I almost lost out on it as other people were turning up to try and find them, but I’m so pleased I dug them up before anyone else.
"My partner has a car that’s around a decade old and has been concerned about a noise it makes, which could have led to a costly repair or two, but now we've got the perfect replacement. When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would be getting a car for free, it’s been incredible to actually win something.”
The Fiat 500 was chosen by Scrap Car Comparison for its reliability, fuel economy and suitability for city driving and longer motorway journeys. The hybrid model is worth more than £12,000.
Dan Gick, managing director at Scrap Car Comparison, said: “As we have seen that people who have to scrap their cars are having an increasingly difficult time of purchasing a new one, we wanted to spread some joy and give anyone the chance to get a new one absolutely free.
"What we didn’t expect was that the hunt for the keys itself would help to show that even in tumultuous times, there’s still a lot of goodwill in the country. It was amazing to learn about the incredibly kind act from Alex and Danny, and hope that thanks to them, Simon (or his partner) are able to enjoy the new car, and worry a lot less about having to repair it any time soon”.
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