A single dad from Horwich got a festive surprise on Saturday when he won £5,000 at his annual staff Christmas party.

Stephen Roach, sales executive for online electricals retailer AO, won the money after his name was drawn at random during the party, which was hosted by the company’s CEO and founder, Bolton-born John Roberts.

The unexpected gift has come at the perfect time for Mr Roach, who admits he has had a tough 18 months.

The decade-long employee at AO and a father to five daughters will be using the money to complete repairs on his home that were put off due to the pandemic.

He also plans to put some of it towards making Christmas as memorable for his daughters as possible.

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After finding out he was the lucky winner of the top prize, Stephen and his colleagues celebrated in style.

He said: “When I found out that I had won I could not believe it, I was so happy that I jumped off the stage and started crowd surfing.

“It was amazing and my whole team were so happy for me because they know what I have been through over the last 18 months.”

Stephen says he will not be telling his daughters about his win so that all five of them are surprised when they wake up on Christmas morning to everything they asked for.

And he is already looking forward to having a fresh start in the New Year. He said: “The money really has helped me change my life and I already feel so much better within myself. I have a lot of positivity going into 2023.”

Mr Roberts said: “Our AO Christmas party is legendary and the highlight of everyone’s year.

“We pride ourselves on creating magic in the moments that matter for our customers every day but this is one special evening when we get to share that magic with our AOers.

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“Stephen is such a worthy winner and it’s mega that the money will make such a big difference to him and his daughters.”

The event was held at the Point at Lancashire County Cricket Club and featured live music, a DJ, a ball pool, stilt walkers, fire breathers, and free food and drink all evening.

There was also an ‘open the box raffle’, other winners received £3,000, a 65” TV, an Xbox, four lots of £250, and an AO teddy bear.

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