Lucky Gaylene to drive away prize

A Martinborough woman has won a brand spanking new Honda utility vehicle worth more than $40,000 in an inaugural nationwide fundraiser for Victim Support.

Southey's Auto World owner Roger Southey presented Martinborough woman Gaylene Maskell with a bouquet of flowers and the keys to her new car - in the colour of her choice - at his sales lot in Masterton yesterday morning.

Also at the prize hand-over was Victim Support national chief executive Tony Paine and Wairarapa Victim Support service co-ordinator Gwen Zittersteijn.

Mrs Maskell had bought one of 24,000 tickets sold in the first-time national lottery that also featured a second prize of return travel to Japan and accommodation worth more than $5000 and a third prize of a wide screen LCD television worth more than $3000.

Mrs Maskell had bought the winning ticket with the last $5 in cash she had in her pocket during an outing to play tennis, she said, and she had looked on the purchase "like always, just as a donation".

She said she had never before won any significant raffle or Lotto prizes and when lottery organisers called to advise of her win, she had "forgotten about buying the ticket" and like her husband Ian, had disbelieved the caller.

She said the carnelian red sports utility vehicle will replace a Holden Vectra stationwagon she had been running for the past 13 years, lately as a runabout for her pair of poodles, Max and Jack.

"I've been happy with my stationwagon for ages. It's my husband that changes his cars, his V8s, not me."

Mr Paine said the Power of Dreams lottery had been highly successful and in partnership with Honda New Zealand will become "an annual anchor fundraising event" for the organisation.

"Funds were raised to support our work with victims of crime and trauma in communities across New Zealand. This frontline service is provided through our 140 staff and more than 900 volunteers," he said.

The lottery was organised by the Victim Support National Office team, he said, and tickets were sold in local communities by staff, volunteers, their families, local committees, supporters and friends.