‘Lucky text’ that lef t Mail readers £25,000 richer
Family scoops first of four jackpots
WHEN Colin Brown received a call to say he’d won the Mail’s Treasure Hunt game, scooping £25,000 worth of gold bars, he turned to his mum and asked: ‘Is this a wind-up?’
The 41-year-old and his family spent last week solving the game’s clues and riddles, and were having their Saturday lunch when his phone rang with the news that they had been randomly selected to win the first of four jackpots.
And once Mr Brown, from Coventry, finally accepted it wasn’t a prank call, he was over the moon. The IT technician said: ‘We enter lots of competitions, but never win anything. Eventually, it sunk in we had won.’
Our Treasure Hunt winners can take their prize either in gold bars or cash. The Browns chose the cash prize option and will split it four ways — between Mr Brown, his brother Chris, 44, and parents Vivian, 72, and Doug, 77.
‘We’re all a bit shell-shocked,’ Mr Brown said. ‘I have recently moved into a new house with my partner, Maria, and her son Jack, so we may buy new furnishings.
‘On the other hand, we could treat ourselves to a holiday.’
His brother Chris, who builds canal boats for a living, is married with a nine-year-old son, Layton. ‘He’s really into sports, so I’m sure that we can treat Layton to some new clothes or equipment,’ said Chris.
Mr Brown’s dad Doug, who was a production manager for a children’s book company, and his mum Vivian, who worked as a secretary as well as being a housewife, live nearby.
Vivian said: ‘I’m going to spend the money on getting a new tooth. When I was a kid, I had it hit with a hockey stick and had a cap put on, but it’s gone wonky.
‘It’s going to cost about £3,000 and now I can get it done without feeling guilty about spending the money.’ Vivian added she ‘didn’t have any trouble’ with the Treasure Hunt’s riddles, but had to enlist her son’s help with texting in the answer.
Mr Brown credits his parents with doing ‘most of the leg work’. ‘I guess this time we must have sent a lucky text,’ he said.
The family said they hope their good luck will continue, and will carry on solving the Treasure Hunt clues for the rest of the month. Doug and Vivian are both avid Mail readers and regularly enter the paper’s competitions.
IF YOU would like to get your hands on £25,000, don’t worry — you still have the rest of the month to take part. Just follow the instructions below.