Big advent win for local competition entrant

Competition winner, Susan Busley with Lincoln BIG’s Rachel Hanson and Paul Claxton and Chantelle Henderson from the Waterside

A Lincoln resident has won £2,500 worth of gifts after entering Lincoln Big’s advent trail competition.

Susan Busley, a teacher at Lincoln College, who loves entering competitions, collected her 24 prizes on Tuesday from the Waterside Shopping Centre.

Lincoln Big worked with 24 local businesses to reveal a different prize box on each day of advent and participants had to record what each box contained.

Winning a range of gifts from a home cooked dinner from the Head Chef at the White Hart Hotel to a guitar, Busley is deciding how to share her gifts and even thinking of taking up a new hobby as a result.

“I’m going to learn how to play the guitar now and the meal has come at a perfect time as my husband has had a knee operation so can’t get around easily.

“I’ve also got three children and five grandchildren to help me enjoy the other prizes,” said Busley.

Lincoln Big Events Organiser, Rachel Hanson, explained how local businesses were targeted, from the Bailgate area through to St Marks, with small and large companies taking part.

Hanson said: “We had seen the idea in other areas and we put the competition together to draw people into the city centre and we have some fantastic prizes to give to our lucky winner.”

Marketing Manager at the Waterside, Chantelle Henderson, said all the centre’s shops were happy to donate a mixture of gifts and themselves had a good Christmas period.

“The Waterside is on the turn with new stores and a very high footfall has made Christmas a success,” said Henderson.