Stafford man to surprise wife with 30th wedding anniversary safari after winning £3,000 holiday

Posted by james brindle | Published: 11/01/2019

A pre-Christmas shopping trip to a Central England Co-op store proved particularly rewarding for a Stafford man after he won a holiday worth £3,000 after buying his groceries.

Andrew Bennett said he ‘still can’t believe it’ after he was named the winner of a special prize draw following a visit to the store in Weeping Cross, Stafford, in December.

The 56-year-old, who works in IT, said he will now treat his wife to a holiday of a lifetime by going on a safari to mark their 30th wedding anniversary this year.

The prize draw for the holiday was held by Central England Co-op as the retailer said ‘thank you’ to customers and members for their support during 2018 with a huge festive giveaway of over 20,000 gifts as part of its Because of You campaign.

Andrew, a regular shopper at the Lynton Avenue Food Store, said: “My wife and I are regular shoppers in the store and loved taking part in the Because of You campaign.

“I live just down the road now and I was also born in a house just yards from the Co-op.

“I still cannot believe that I have won. It is extra special because my wife and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this year.

“We are going to put the prize towards a trip of a lifetime and celebrate 30 years together by going on safari.”

The Because of You campaign saw customers shopping at any Central England Co-op Food store in the run-up to Christmas handed a special ticket as they headed through the till.

This prompted them to head online to enter a unique code which not only led to one of 20,000 rewards ranging from Co-op mince pies to hundreds of pounds in Co-op food vouchers, but also entered them into the prize draw for the holiday.

Weeping Cross store manager Matt Jurkiewicz said he was ‘delighted’ to see one of the store’s regulars win the big prize.

He said: “All of the team are proud to be part of such a great community in Weeping Cross so we were delighted to find out that one of our regular shoppers had won such a wonderful prize after shopping in store. We all hope Andrew and his wife have a magical time on safari!”

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

Central England Co-operative has over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2019.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop