Last-minute ticket wins Wendy house

Leaving things to the last minute isn't always a bad idea, just ask Lil Tulloch.

Mrs Tulloch won the G J Gardner Wendy house raffle, taking home a custom-built playhouse built by G J Gardner Rotorua.

Mrs Tulloch said she had wanted to buy a raffle ticket for a few weeks to enter the draw, but her timing was always off.

Each day she would drive home from work on Te Ngae Rd passing the G J Gardner office, but on each occasion she would pass by too late and the store would be shut.

"On the last day before the raffle closed I drove past at 5pm and they were still open. So I bought the last two tickets."

The organisers said the raffle tickets were mixed up in a bucket before being drawn on air during the Classic Hits Rotorua Breakfast Show, on December 14.

"I was at work actually, just doing normal stuff. I had heard earlier in the morning that it was being drawn and thought 'fat chance of me winning'," Mrs Tulloch said.

Surprisingly, she received a phone call from radio presenter Paul Hickey and realised instantly what was happening. "I just went silent," she said with a laugh.

Mrs Tulloch said she had a "blended" family with 12 grandchildren so the playhouse was getting a pretty good workout at her home in Owhata.

G J Gardner Rotorua franchise owner Graham Fuller said they had raised $4700 for the Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter, as a result of the raffle.

Mr Fuller said the BayTrust Rescue Helicopter did a great job around Rotorua and deserved the support.