A BORDERS health worker was unaware for several months that she had won a £10,000 car - because competition organisers could not find her.

Delighted Linda Richardson, from Innerleithen, thought her partner was winding her up when he called to tell her she was the new owner of a Chrysler Ypsilon.

The £10,000 windfall came her way after she entered her name into a prize draw at Musselburgh races almost 15 months ago.

She should have received the prize at the beginning of this year - but it took racecourse staff several months to track her down.

“We love visiting different racecourses and the trip to Musselburgh was a great day but this unexpected prize has made it one to remember,” she said.

The car was first prize in a draw the racecourse had run in conjunction with local dealer Belmont Wallyford at every 2014 race meeting.

Racegoers were encouraged to enter their details on the racecard and the winner from the thousands of entries was drawn out of the hat at the annual New Year’s Day race day on January 1. Racecourse staff wanted to share the good news with Linda but discovered she had moved from her County Durham address to the Borders and was not picking up messages.

Eventually she did respond to an email and the keys to the gleaming red motor were handed over to Linda and partner Keith Euman at a presentation at the racecourse.

Linda said: “We moved home last September to be closer to Keith’s family but we’ve had problems with our internet on and off so we must have missed the email from the racecourse.

“It was a wonderful surprise but I must admit that when Keith called me at work to say I had won a car I thought he was winding me up.” Stuart Pardoe, sales manager of Belmont Wallyford, said: “We’re sorry that Linda has missed out on driving this lovely car for more than two months but glad that she is now behind the wheel and able to enjoy her prize.” Musselburgh Racecourse commercial manager, Sarah Montgomery, added: “We were a bit bemused at first when we tried to contact Linda about the car and heard nothing back.

“We didn’t have a phone contact and with her moving address it made it a bit more difficult than it should be to hand over an £10,000 car, but all’s well that ends well.

“We are always looking for ways in which we can add to the overall racing experience when visiting Musselburgh and we would like to thank all those who took the time to enter the draw.” Musselburgh is back racing when it launches the start of the 2015 Flat season on Good Friday, April 3, followed by its traditional Easter Sunday Family Day on April 5. For more information visit www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk