Wigan family wins a magical Christmas trip to Lapland

A family of four from Wigan have bagged themselves an exciting trip to Lapland this Christmas after winning a national radio competition.
By Holly Pritchard
Published 8th Dec 2022, 12:30 BST
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Ant Ratcliffe, 35, a crane driver and wife Catherine, a nursery nurse, both live in Abram with their sons, Bobby, 10, and Duncan, seven.

Catherine heard a national competion announced on Heart Radio for people to send in a Christmas letter to Santa via an online form where you could win a family trip to the magical north Scandavian territories and get to meet Father Christmas.

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Left to righT: Ant Ratcliffe with Catherine Ratcliffe and their two sons, Duncan, seven, and Bobby, 10.Left to righT: Ant Ratcliffe with Catherine Ratcliffe and their two sons, Duncan, seven, and Bobby, 10.
Left to righT: Ant Ratcliffe with Catherine Ratcliffe and their two sons, Duncan, seven, and Bobby, 10.
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Ant, who was unaware his other half had entered, said: “Catherine filled int the form to Heart Radio with a Christmas letter addressed to Santa. They were calling some family names out over the radio which gave you 10 minutes to call in and claim the prize.

"Happily my wife and kids heard our names mentioned and so she called in right away. It was a competition for across the whole of the country.

"It was about half seven and the kids came running in and woke me up to tell me ‘dad, we’re going to Lapland’. I was like, ‘what are you on about?’ I didn’t have a clue what was going on! I didn’t know anything about it.

"We go for two nights later this month. We’ve never been before but always wanted to.

"I’m excited but the kids were ecstatic! We’re going to be going on snow mobiles, husky rides, reindeer rides and the kids will get to meet Father Christmas.”

Related topics:Wigan