By Joshua Robinson –
A Huddersfield teenager was surprised after she travelled more than 130 miles thinking she had just won a dashcam only to discover her main prize was actually a brand new car.
Grace Taylor, 19, travelled from Yorkshire to East Winch in Norfolk believing she was collecting a Road Angel Halo Pro worth £200. But she soon realised that a Fiat 500 also had her name on it, after being entered into FirstCar’s ‘Spin to Win’ competition.
The electric vehicle, worth £23,850 and courtesy of insurance broker Adrian Flux, was the top prize and now belongs to the teenager who was shocked by the big reveal.
Miss Taylor said: “I was just in complete shock really, I can’t believe it.”
“It’s amazing, it’s such a great feeling. I’m really happy and I just can’t kind of believe it’s real. I wasn’t expecting it. I vaguely remember entering the competition at the time and I was shocked when I got the phone call about the dashcam and winning that. I never even thought about winning the top prize or anything.”
Miss Taylor added: “I did think it was quite a long way to come for a dashcam but my mum just said they needed some publicity for it and she just basically convinced me by saying ‘oh we’re going to have a day out’ and I just kind of went along with it.”
“I’m looking forward to driving to some of the towns and cities on little day trips and stuff near Huddersfield. I might go to Meadowhall or something.”
The competition winner passed her test 10 months ago and has been driving a Suzuki Swift. She has used FirsCar, which creates a series of content in print and online that serves as a helpful resource for learner and young drivers, to aid her journey from L-plates to getting on
the road.
Her delighted mother Clare, who also travelled by train and then taxi to collect the car, was relieved she managed to keep the huge win a secret.
Mrs Taylor said: “It was difficult as I’m one of those people that can’t keep secrets.”
“When they said ‘we want it to be a surprise’ I thought: ‘You’ve just told the worst person in the world, you should have told my husband’. But I did it because, obviously, what a thrill for her, what a surprise. If she would have known, it wouldn’t have been the same.”
Mrs Taylor added: “It was difficult because she kept saying: ‘Why have we got to go all the way to King’s Lynn just for a dashcam, why can’t they post it?’ In the end I just said: ‘They want some publicity to show that people are winning the prizes. It’s a day off work, we’ll have a day out and she fell for it’.”
“I was anxious really because I kept thinking ‘I hope she doesn’t ask me too many questions’. If somebody asks me something to my face, I’m not very good at lying. I didn’t want her to ask me too much and I was tired because we’d been up since 5.30am and we had to get the train. Luckily she was reading and I was reading and it didn’t happen.”
Mrs Taylor was planning to drive the vehicle some of the way home before letting Grace get her first taste behind the wheel.
Mrs Taylor further stated: “It was fantastic. You want the best for your children. Grace has had it hard with Covid because she was the years that were affected with her GCSEs and A-levels.”
“Her college years were horrible, there was no sort of social things going on. It was a really miserable time. I think this is really going to give her a boost and help her to think that there are good things that happen.”
Miss Taylor was handed her keys by Grant Varnham, business development manager at Adrian Flux, who was on hand to enjoy the moment alongside Keanan Lloyd-Adams, a FirstCar brand ambassador.
Loading ...