A Littlehampton shopper is celebrating a £250 cash boost after winning the September Love Local Prize Draw, announced by Littlehampton Mayor Councillor David Chace.

Thomas Cooper from Littlehampton was the lucky winner whose Love Local loyalty card was chosen at random in the first prize draw of the campaign, designed to attract shoppers to Littlehampton in the run up to Christmas.

Speaking about being the first winner, Mr Cooper said: “I cannot believe it. I am a regular at Café 72 in the High Street and that’s where I collected my stickers, in fact I completed 5 cards! But even with that many chances of winning I couldn’t believe it when I took the call.”

Mr Cooper is putting the prize money into his holiday fund and is very much looking forward to having a holiday in 2021.

Love Local Prize Draw is a joint campaign between Arun District Council, Littlehampton Town Council and Littlehampton Traders Partnership to encourage people to shop locally as businesses recover from the Coronavirus lockdown.

A monthly cash prize of £250 is available in September, October and November, with a whopping £500 up for grabs in December 2020.

For a chance to win, shoppers will collect a sticker each time they spend £5 or more in participating shops, restaurants, hairdressers, cafes and other businesses.

Once shoppers have collected five stickers, their completed loyalty card is entered into a monthly cash prize draw and one lucky winner will win £250 cash – and a £500 prize in December.

Littlehampton Town Mayor Councillor David Chace says the draw is a great way to promote Littlehampton’s many independent retailers and local businesses. Speaking during the live draw, the Mayor said: “I would like to say a big thank you to the businesses which have supported this initiative, there are over 40 now. There is still time to join, just contact the Town Centre Regeneration Officer. I also want to thank everyone who shopped in our Town in September and is supporting local businesses.”

“If every Littlehampton resident spent £5 per week in a town centre shop, this would bring £7.8* million into the local economy. The town centre is the heartbeat of Littlehampton and we all have the power to make a huge impact by shopping locally,” says Councillor Chace.

Shoppers can collect their Love Local Prize Draw card from 40 participating shops and leave their completed card at local collection points each month for a chance to win.

Full details of the scheme, a list of shops and businesses where cards can be picked up, collection points for completed cards and monthly draw deadlines can be found on the www.visitlittlehampton.co.uk website.

*Source – www.TotallyLocally.org