World-class musician wins £95k VW camper after lucky spot-the-ball guess
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He spends his time performing on world stages, but one tiny pixel has just changed his weekends forever.
An internationally-acclaimed musician who has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the English National Opera has just won a £95,000 campervan in a spot the ball game.
Ian Mullin, principal flute in the English National Ballet, spent just a few pounds on a ticket to win a Volkswagen California Ocean camper with the prize draw company BOTB, and his musical pitch wasn't the only one he could master - because he found a missing ball on a football pitch that nobody else could place.
His win was revealed in a surprise visit to his house, in Kent, while he was taking a break from performing with Nutcracker at the London Coliseum.
BOTB's presenter Christian Williams turned up at Ian's front door with a film crew and a set of keys, and unveiled the prize, parked in Ian's street.
"That's amazing," he said, with a beaming smile. "My partner and I have always wanted one. That's why I bought the tickets.
"We really love the outdoors, we really love paddle-boarding, so that's why we entered the competition."
Ian's prize is the latest top-spec version of Volkswagen's iconic California camper, which has four-wheel drive, off-grid power, a fitted kitchen, and an electrically lifting pop-top.
BOTB brought along an older model to illustrate Ian's prize, but they will now be ordering him a brand new one in his perfect spec as part of his win.
"That's our holidays sorted for the next five years", joked Ian, who is also a second-degree black belt in Ju Jitsu.
"We want to explore Southern Ireland, it's so beautiful around there. And we've got a bonkers springer spaniel as well, so she'll love it."
To win BOTB's weekly competition, Ian had to pick the location of a football that had been removed from a photograph of a football match - and he had to be pixel-perfect.
"This is really going to change our lives," Ian told Christian, as he took a look around his new camper.
"I'm so grateful, thank you. My other half is going to be very, very shocked and surprised, but she's going to love it, because she loves these vehicles as well.
"We've always talked about it together, and said it would be nice to do this. So she's going to be absolutely over the moon."
BOTB currently gives away a dream home every month, and its latest prize is a luxury four-bedroom townhouse in Bath worth £1.15 million - tickets are just £1.
The company also gives away dream cars every week, and one of the latest on offer is a £60,000 Land Rover Defender, with tickets costing just 9p.
To find out more or to see the other competitions, click here.
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