Heat pump, free power for competition winner

ON TOP: Too Hot To Handle winner Robert Murphy (right) with Couchman Electrical's Mark Nixon and The Hits Manawatu presenter Darryl Mallett. PHOTO: MARK HAZLEWOOD

A Palmerston North man will now have a toasty winter thanks to a competition run by Couchman Electrical and The Hits Manawatu.

Robert Murphy was the winner of Too Hot to Handle, a promotion that ran for the month of May.

The Hits crew set up pressure domes at various times and locations across the city, and contestants had to climb inside, collecting as many tickets as possible within a timeframe.

The grand final saw the major prize, a Panasonic heat pump, handed over to Mr Murphy.

"I also get my power bill paid for the first two months so that's the main reason why I entered."

Mr Murphy initially entered at Memorial Park then tried again at the set up on Tremaine Ave.

"I got inside and got all ready but the power went out ... it died on me. So they rebooked me to do it at Te Manawa. I got the highest number of tickets on the day which put me through to the grand final."

Taking on three others at Memorial Park, Mr Murphy obtained the most tickets and gained bonus points answering questions from The Hits Manawatu presenter Darryl Mallett.

"He was inside the dome with us as a distraction, asking questions and we got one point for each one we got right. I got five right so, I think I must have got about 31 tickets."

As an avid Hits' listener, Mr Murphy says this is his first major prize. "I'm definitely a Hits fan, I've won movie tickets and things but nothing like this."