NHS worker wins £73,000 Aston Martin with a 19p raffle ticket - but there's one major problem...

NHS worker wins £73,000 Aston Martin with a 19p raffle ticket - but there's one major problem...
By: dailymail Posted On: January 15, 2026 View: 26

An NHS A&E worker this month became the lucky winner of a luxury Aston Martin sports car having entered a competition for just 19p.

But she faces one significant problem…

Mary Sonquit, 25, from Maidstone, Kent, had just finished a late shift when she was woken by car giveaway company BOTB (Best of the Best) earlier this month and handed the keys to a 195mph Aston Martin Vantage worth £73,000.

But not only had she forgotten she had entered the draw in the first place, she doesn't have a driving licence.

Mary said she had only started entering the weekly competition to win a car around Christmas time, meaning she became a winner within a month of going up against thousands who take part on a regular basis.

'I don't know what to do. This is crazy,' Sonquit said as BOTB presenter Katie Knight unveiled the blue V8 Vantage to the shocked NHS employee.

Mary Sonquit (left), 25, earlier this month won a 195mph Aston Martin with a 19p raffle ticket

The 25-year-old said she was woken by someone asking for her at the front door but had no idea the reason for the enquiry having forgotten she had put her name in the hat for the 2018 Aston Martin, which has 16,000 miles on the clock.

'I saw it was 19p, entered, and then I completely forgot about it,' she said.

'It's so comfortable, and because I'm small it suits me really well. It's so much prettier in person,' Mary said as she perched herself behind the steering wheel.

BOTB's weekly competition allows people to choose from a number of different new and used cars of varying value, with the price of each entry ticket reflective of the value of the car they're hoping to win.

Each ticket allows customers to enter a spot the ball competition, where they must identify the whereabouts of the deleted football in an action shot taken of a grass-roots game.

An expert panel of judges meet weekly to determine where they believe the ball is positioned, with the entrant closest to their marker deemed the winner. 

Sonquit, from Maidstone, Kent, said she had forgotten she had even entered the prize draw to win the 2018 Aston Martin

While the V8 Vantage is over seven years old, it still provides the monumental performance you'd expect from a modern-era Aston Martin.

The 500bhp of power it delivers is something even the most seasoned supercar owner would struggle to tame, let alone someone who doesn't even have a provisional driving licence yet.

As such, Mary, who is a receptionist in an A&E department working long hours and has yet to find the time to take driving lessons, instead opted to take a cash prize, rather than the keys to the Aston Martin - an option available to every BOTB winner.

Launched in 2018, the Aston Martin Vantage is powered by a 503bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. It can hit 62mph in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 195mph. So, it's probably not a car you'd want to learn to drive in...
Instead of taking ownership of the Aston Martin, Mary has instead opted for a cash prize, which she says she'll use to fund her psychology degree

She says she plans to use the money to support herself through her psychology degree, removing the pressure of juggling full-time work and university.

Knight, one of BOTB's presenters who has the enviable job of delivering supercars to competition entrants on a weekly basis, said: 'The Vantage is such a head-turner, and seeing Mary in complete shock and trying to take it all in was brilliant.

'She's worked incredibly hard for the NHS, often doing long shifts, and this couldn't have happened to a more deserving winner.

'She may decide to take the cash, which will be life-changing in its own way. Either way, this prize gives her freedom, security and some well-earned breathing space.'

BOTB recently expanded its competitions into the same space as luxury house giveaway company Omaze, offering people the chance to win a four-bedroom home in Essex worth £1.25million in a competition currently costing £1 per entry.

The competition was originally founded in 1999 and operated out of airports before shifting online and growing dramatically in popularity to become the UK's biggest car giveaway company.

It claims to have given away prizes to over 523,000 people, including £132million-worth of cars.

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