Billericay man wins BOTB £80,000 cash and Mercedes prize

James Coulthurst was at home in Billericay when presenter Christian Williams for BOTB, a leading competitions company,  turned up at his front door - after enlisting the help of James’ mum, Lorraine, to help him reveal the good news.

Explaining the moment he first saw his mum at the door, the 30-year-old said: “I thought, ‘why has my mom got a camera behind her’ and then I recognised the microphone she was wearing and knew it was BOTB.

Christian Williams with James Coulthurst. Photo: BOTB

“That’s when Christian jumped out to surprise me.”

James revealed he’s played BOTB for just over a year and watched all of the weekly winner videos in that time.

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“I’ve dreamt about this moment so many times,” he explained.

“It got to the point where I thought it was never going to happen to me but I enjoyed playing the Spot the Ball competition so kept going.

“I was completely shocked to see Christian at the door.”

James said he played for the Mercedes because of the car’s interior plus its look.

“My sister, Megan, has a Mercedes and I’ve always been really jealous,” he laughed. “I can’t believe I’ve got one now, too.

“I’m obsessed with cars and motor sport, so when I wake up and know I get to drive this to work, I will be so happy.”

It cost James just £1.50 for his ticket to enter the competition where he scooped the Mercedes AMG A45-S that boasts 415bhp thanks to a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine.

James has just moved into a house in Billericay with girlfriend Amy, 34.

“A chunk of the £20k will go on upgrading the car,” James added.

“And the rest will probably go onto home improvements.

“We’ve just moved into our house so we’ve got things like the bathroom to do just to make it a bit more homely.”

James with his new Mercedes. Photo: BOTB

Since being founded in 1999 by William Hindmarch, BOTB has given away more than £47million worth of prizes, including supercars, cash and holidays.

BOTB’s Christian Williams, who surprises the BOTB winners every week, was thrilled to give James the good news.

He said: “I could tell James was a true BOTB fan and loyal player as soon as I heard him say he recognised the microphone we’d asked his mum to wear. He played for a fantastic prize and I’m super excited for him to get behind the wheel and take his new car for a spin.”