A MALDON man received the shock of his life after bagging a £25,000 cash prize in an online raffle.

Sam Brown scooped the prize courtesy of online competition firm BOTB's weekly Lifestyle Competition.

Sam, who works as a glazier by day and as a firefighter in his spare time, was completely stunned when presenter Christian Williams video called him to break the news.

At first, Sam had no idea why Christian was calling, as he is a BOTB Pass member, which automatically enters him into selected competitions.

"You're joking! I don't know what to say," said Sam. "I've never won anything like that before. It's mental."

Sam said he had only recently noticed other BOTB Pass members winning prizes and decided to give it a go himself.

"I only saw it the other day and I thought I would take a punt," he said. "I saw people who had it kept winning."

Sam said he had not yet decided exactly what he would spend the money on.

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"It's going to be a great help," he added.

Christian said: "Sam was absolutely blown away when we told him he'd won the £25,000.

"I'm sure the money will go a long way, and we're delighted for him."