SALISBURY resident Derrick Petty was delighted to start 2018 with an unexpected win on Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s Superdraw lottery.
Mr Petty, of Stratford sub Castle, scooped the top prize of £25,000 on the charity’s Superdraw last month (January).
Mr Petty, 79, who has lived in Salisbury all his life and is originally from Wilton, remarked on his win: “It’s my birthday later this month so winning the Superdraw is a good birthday present! I’ve not won anything on Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s lottery or Superdraw before this and I was quite surprised to win the jackpot. It will come in handy and I shall be spending some of my winnings on improvements to my home.”
Mr Petty, who is retired but delivers newspapers in his village, joined Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s lotteries in February 2017 when a canvasser knocked at his door.
Mr Petty, who lives with his partner Margaret Ayriss, added: “Wiltshire Air Ambulance does such a good job. The helicopter can get to incidents, such as road traffic collisions, quickly and its paramedics give critical care to people who are seriously injured or ill. You never know when it will be needed and by playing the Lottery and Superdraw I’m doing my bit to help the charity continue to save lives.”
Rebecca de la Bedoyere, grants, lottery and legacies co-ordinator at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “We are truly delighted for Mr Petty and hope he enjoys spending his winnings. By taking part in our Lottery and Superdraw, he is helping us raise over £1 million each year to keep our lifesaving service running.
“As we are not funded directly by the Government and do not receive National Lottery grants, our own lotteries are a vital source of income to us, with proceeds directly benefiting the people of Wiltshire. We’re very grateful to Mr Petty and all our lottery members for their support.”
Players of Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s regular lottery can join the Superdraw. While the regular lottery has a top prize of £1,000 a week, the Superdraw rolls over if there is no complete match until it reaches a maximum prize of £25,000.
Since 2014 when the Superdraw was launched, there have been 26 winners who cumulatively have won a total of £373,826.45.
