Married couple Roger and Yvonne Bedford, of Top Cross Road, Pebsham, are loyal Observer readers, but only spotted our cash giveaway competition in week three of its month-long run.

Roger, 65, managed to salvage tokens from the previous fortnight by digging through his recycle bin. And after Observer series Editor-in-Chief Keith Ridley presented him with a £1,000 cheque on Wednesday, Roger jokingly thanked Rother District Council's recycling team for only collecting once a fortnight.


Yvonne said the pair would put the money towards enjoying their summer.

The competition, which ran throughout May, invited readers to collect four tokens and send them off to an Observer HQ in Horsham to be in with a chance of winning. Roger described his amazement on being told the good news: "I had to read the letter twice. It was totally out of the blue.

"You get these sort of things quite a lot - "you are the lucky winner, phone this number for £7 a second" - but this one was actually real."

The couple, who moved to Bexhill from Surrey in 1966, get The Observer every week.

Editor-in-Chief Keith Ridley congratulated the couple, saying: "Well done to Roger and Yvonne for winning our competition, it was a pleasure to hand over the cheque. All of us hope their £1,000 contributes to a fantastic summer for them. We certainly wish them well, and hope they continue to enjoy the Observer."

Pictured: Roger and Yvonne Bedford with Keith Ridley.