A COUPLE who won a trip of a lifetime courtesy thought it was a hoax when they found out.

Maureen, 78, and George Cripps, 80, entered the exclusive Echo competition and won a 19-night Madeira and Grand Canary Island Cruise, onboard Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ (CMV) Columbus ship.

When the couple, from Albert Road, in Benfleet, received the call announcing the good news, they were convinced it was a hoax.

Maureen told the Echo: “When we got the call we thought it was a scam.

“We had already entered for next year’s cruise competition when we got the call.

“We were told we would get an e-mail to confirm, and after waiting two days for it we thought ‘oh well, it must have been a scam’.

“But George said he was going to ring. After George rang, we got the e-mail confirmation.

“It was very exciting and we were just in disbelief.”

Out of hundreds of entries the Cripps’ entry was pulled and the trip was everything they hoped it would be.

The loyal readers enjoyed trips to Madeira, Lisbon, Casablanca, Gran Canaria, and Marrakesh.

Maureen added: “It was lovely to get away for 19 nights especially at this time of year.

“Out of the 12 ports we stopped at, the two that were outstanding were Madeira, where we went up in the cable car and came down in the basket, also Marrakesh, which was entirely different – very vibrant with the open market, snake charmers, monkeys, and acrobats.

“Marrakesh was the main place we wanted to visit.

“It’s such a fascinating place with such a different culture.”

Maureen and George are keen cruisers and have been on many during the last 20 years.

The couple were delighted to travel to so many places and praised CMV and the Columbus for the fantastic food and “marvellous” onboard entertainment, which they said was the “best” they’ve experienced yet.

Hannah Dornan, regional promotions manager at the Echo, said: “Mr Cripps did take a little while to be convinced that I wasn’t a hoax caller.”

Maureen and George went on their cruise that departed from Tilbury on November 10. They, and hundreds of others, are now eagerly anticipating the next Echo competition.