A SOLDIER from Bere Alston has had a surprise Christmas present and great start to 2013 — by winning a new car courtesy of the Devon Freemasons.
Sergeant Jason Griffiths of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, Royal Citadel, Plymouth, while on six weeks training in the Californian Desert, was amazed to get a phone call from his wife, Nikki, telling him that he had won a brand new Seat Ibiza car in a draw organised by the Freemasons.
The winning ticket was bought for him as a present by his father-in-law Arthur Blamey, a member of St Lawrence Lodge, Ashburton.
Jason said the prize was his best Christmas present ever.
He and Nikki and their three daughters, Megan, May and Macy, who live in Bere Alston, are now looking forward to enjoying family trips out in their new car.
The keys were given to them by the Provincial Grand Master, Right Worshipful Brother Michael Penny, who was delighted that the prize had gone to such a 'super family.'
The draw was made at a dinner to mark the culmination of a Devonshire Freemasons campaign which raised £3.8m for the Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys.