Farepak loser’s Christmas cheer at hamper win

Amanda Metcalfe feared she would lose £500 when the company went into liquidation in October, but only lost £100 on her Christmas hamper payments.

Amanda and her husband Graham, entered Darlington Council’s Markets Team’s Christmas promotion, which has seen 12 food hampers given away in a free prize draw.

On Friday (December 15) they couldn’t believe their luck when they received a call telling them they had won a grand hamper.

Mrs Metcalfe, a party planner from the Harrowgate Hill area said: “It was such a lovely surprise to win this hamper after everything with Farepak. We were lucky - I know some people have lost a lot of money, and we only lost £100, but it’s still quite a bit.

“But winning this hamper has been great. There’s some lovely things in there, that will be really nice with the Christmas dinner. There’s champagne, wine, some port – all sorts. It’s a lovely hamper.”