A LUCKY roofer from Bearley has won a brand new car thanks to the ultimate random act of kindness.
Simon Muirhead was about to set off to work when he received a call from a complete stranger saying the keys to a new car were buried a few miles down the road in Henley. And if he was the first person to the scene, he could dig them up and claim the car.
At first the 40-year-old thought the call must be a prank but it turned out it was part of a nationwide treasure hunt organised by Scrap Car Comparison.
The company decided that due to the rising cost of living making it difficult for people to purchase such items as a new car they would organised a treasure hunt for a new Fiat 500. Participants had to follow a series of clues to find out where the keys were buried.
And after cracking the clues and realising the keys were buried over 100 miles away in Henley, Manchester-based colleagues Alex Lawson and Danny Lane used Google Maps to contact a local business and help them win the car instead.
That was what led to them calling Simon, who managed to beat almost 3,000 people that took part in the hunt to the scene – with some travelling from the likes of Sheffield, Birmingham and Leicester.
Simon plans to gift the new car to his girlfriend Patrycja, as she has been having to drive a much older vehicle that is in need of repair.
Alex said: “We looked at the location on Google Maps and saw there was a business nearby called RM Roofing. As we work for a company called RM Education ourselves, this felt like fate, so we called the number on their website and got through to Simon.
“After convincing him we weren’t prank callers and texting over the details on the Scrap Car Comparison website, we stayed on the phone while he made his way to the nearby location of the keys, and tried to help him find exactly where they were.
“The moment he found them we were celebrating together. It felt so good to spread some good fortune and play a part in making someone’s day. We’re over the moon to have helped someone get a brand new car.”
While Simon said: “I can’t quite believe it. I was just about to leave for work and I had a call from an unknown number, then the next thing I know they’re talking me through how to find the keys to a brand new car. I almost lost out on it as other people were turning up to try and find them, but I’m so pleased I dug them up before anyone else.
“My partner has a car that’s around a decade old, and has been concerned about a noise it makes, which could have led to a costly repair or two, but now we’ve got the perfect replacement. When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would be getting a car for free, it’s been incredible to actually win something.”
Dan Gick, Managing Director at Scrap Car Comparison added: “As we have seen that people who have to scrap their cars are having an increasingly difficult time of purchasing a new one, we wanted to spread some joy and give anyone the chance to get a new one for absolutely free.
“What we didn’t expect, was that the hunt for the keys itself would help to show that even in tumultuous times, there’s still a lot of goodwill in the country.”
