ONE lucky shopper at the Warndon SPAR branch picked up more than just groceries after winning a competition to have their energy bills paid for a year.

Jonathan Whitwell was left in shock after receiving the sum which amounts to the average a family spends on energy bills yearly.

Mr Whitwell was awarded £4,399 as part of the company’s Merry Textmas competition.

He said: “It was such a lovely call to receive on a rainy afternoon.

“I am still in shock as did not believe anyone wins prizes like these.

“Thank you so much SPAR - this win has come at just the best time for us, and it will make an enormous difference to my family and me.”

Merry Textmas was a 25-day text-to-win competition that ran in more than 300 SPAR stores across England and Wales from December 8 to January 1, 2023.

Weekly, prizes were drawn and offered customers the opportunity to win four big-budget prizes such as cash towards Christmas, fuel or energy for a year or shopping at SPAR for a year.

Zowie Spragg, store manager at the Spar in Cranham Drive, added: “It is fantastic to be able to reward our shoppers with prizes like this at what can be a difficult financial time of year for many.

“We really appreciate all our customers, and it is a wonderful way of saying thank you for shopping at Spar.

“We hope that this prize goes a long way in helping Jonathan with his bills this year and that all our customers have enjoyed taking part in our Merry Textmas competition.”