A fire protection worker and father-of-two described his "nervous excitement" after winning a Volkswagen Golf GTD and cash prize worth almost £40,000 in a competition.

Ben Albon, from Haverhill, couldn't believe his luck when Christian Williams, presenter of competitions operator Best of the Best, contacted him with the good news after he won the Daily Draws competition.

Mr Albon said: “I was in a meeting when Christian first called me and I didn't know whose number it was. 

"He then messaged me and I started to get a feeling of nervous excitement. When I eventually spoke to him, and he told me I had won, I just kept thinking 'is it real?'. I honestly thought it was a wind up.”

Mr Williams said Mr Albon laughed when he told him the news and said: "Give it a rest, this is an absolute joke! You must be winding me up." 

East Anglian Daily Times: Mr Albon said he was planning on spending the money on taking his family on holiday.Mr Albon said he was planning on spending the money on taking his family on holiday. (Image: Best of the Best)

But instead of securing the Golf, 35-year-old Mr Albon said he plans on taking the cash alternative in order to buy a campervan and take his family on holiday to to the Yorkshire Dales and somewhere in France. 

He said: “I love the car, but the cash provides me and my family with so many opportunities, it’s too good to turn down."

"We’re looking to move house and we would love to buy a campervan. Me and my partner like hiking, and we’ve got two boys and would love to take them to the Yorkshire Dales as well as somewhere like France,”

The show's host Mr Williams understood the decision, saying: “It’s an amazing car which comes with a fantastic bit of kit, but I can also see why the cash alternative is very appealing to him and his family, and it sounds like they’ve already got a good idea of how they want to spend it.”