IT IS somethingmost people have dreamed about – five minutes to grab anything and everything from the supermarket for free.
For mum-of-four Vivienne Abbott it came true yesterday morning and she piled £391 of shopping in her trolley during a dash round Sainsbury’s before celebrating with a glass of Champagne.
Mrs Abbott, 49, from Langford Village, Bicester, won the five-minute trolley dash when she entered a draw at the Kidlington store.
Money raised from the raffle is being divided between the store’s chosen charities this year, Lilacs Day Centre in Kidlington, which supports people with mental health problems, and the Kidlington Girl Guides.
Mrs Abbott is a regular shopper at the supermarket in Oxford Road but took the precaution of paying a visit the day before to plan her route.
One of the first items on her shopping list was five bottles of Champagne, with each bottle costing £23.99.
After completing the dash Mrs Abbott said: “I was going to chicken out and get my son Eddie, who is 24, to take my place, but then I realised this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Sainsbury’s rang up on Friday to tell me I had won and I didn’t sleep on Friday night because I was dreaming about my route.
“I stuck quite well to my plan although I did start grabbing wildly at one point and I probably ended up with more nuts than I needed.
“I swim 30 lengths once a week to stay fit but my legs were trembling by the end so I grabbed a packet of paracetamol in case I needed it.
“The trolley ran very smoothly on the way round and I’m delighted with what I got.
“I’ve got plenty of champagne so I can open a bottle and have a little family celebration.”
Daughter Jenny, 17, added: “I put in lots of requests but mum said she wanted to get value for money.”
Mrs Abbott, an accountant with an air ambulance firm at Oxford Airport, was ticket holder 437 in the draw in which 700 customers bought a £1 ticket.
Rob Western, deputy store manager, said: “The trolley dash is an old-fashioned idea which was updated by Dale Winton on the TV show Supermarket Sweep.
“Vivienne was only allowed to pick Sainsbury’s own-brand items so she had to choose quite carefully as she went round.
“I estimated that I could probably get about £500 worth of shopping in a five-minute dash so I think she has done very well indeed.
“We are pleased that we have raised hundreds of pounds for our two chosen charities and there will be other fundraising events later.”
Mrs Abbott was not allowed to choose electrical goods, and could choose a maximum of five items from beers, wines and spirits and two joints of meat.
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