A CAR enthusiast, who spent £5 on raffle tickets in the spring, had the surprise of his life when he was told that he had won Atwell Wilson Motor Museum's prize draw for a 1976 MG Midget.

Richard Singer, 71, of Paxcroft Way, Trowbridge was announced as the winner of the draw organised by friends of the Calne motor museum at their mulled wine evening on Saturday, December 3.

"It took a while for it to sink in," Mr Singer admitted. "They rang me on Monday morning because they couldn't get hold of me on the night and I was quite surprised. I didn't know what they were on about. It didn't sink in at all!

"I was in Devizes market place at a classic car show in May or April and I bought a couple of tickets then for a pound each and I forgot about it. I was dead lucky really."

Mr Singer, who has two children and four grandsons, has been in the garage non-stop since picking up the keys on Thursday admiring the car which has taken pride of place next to his MGB GT and Porsche 911.

More than 13,200 people bought a raffle ticket for the car, which helps keep the museum open and running and Pam Bain, a friend of the museum, said the evening was a great success.

"It went pretty well," she said. "Everyone that came enjoyed themselves and the mulled wine and the mince pies were flowing. It is nice to see the car go to a home nearby and Richard is an MG enthusiast so it is great for him.

"We will be making a change next year to the raffle and it will be drawn at our annual show in July. We decided this in the hopes that we can encourage more people to come to the show and raise the profile of the museum in the town."