PAT Jones could not believe her luck when she won the top prize in the Evening Press WYLAP competition for retailers - a cruise in the Mediterranean.

The prize trip will be the first time the manager of the Costcutter store in Main Street, Wilberfoss, has gone abroad, and she can't wait.

Mrs Jones, 49, who has worked in the store for 19 years, was entered into the WYLAP holiday prize draw when she boosted one week's sales of the Evening Press in the shop by 16.3 per cent.

The increase was achieved by putting posters up throughout the shop and ordering an extra 25 copies of the newspaper a day.

Mrs Jones will be taking the nine-day cruise, which includes stops in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with her husband, Ken in August.

She said: "It is absolutely brilliant. I have never been abroad before so I am really excited."

Shopkeepers Andrew and Melanie Malloy won a European cruise in the same competition - and then gave it away to a hard-working member of staff.

The Malloys, who have run Rillington Village Stores, near Malton, for three years, sold 216 extra copies of the Evening Press in six weeks, earning them a place in the prize draw.

The couple scooped a five-night cruise on the River Danube.

But the increased sales could not have been achieved without the dedication of their staff, who wore WYLAP T-shirts and asked every customer if they wanted a copy of the Evening Press throughout the promotion. To thank them, they held their own prize draw for the holiday among their staff.

Cynthia Render, 62, of Rillington, was the lucky worker who will be heading off on the cruise this summer. Having worked at the shop for 23 years, everyone at the store felt she had earned a break.

She said: "I am delighted and so excited. I just can't believe it."

Generous York newsagents Geoff and Jackie Salisbury have given away an Evening Press trip to the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Mr and Mrs Salisbury, who have run Hartleys Newsagents in Osbaldwick Lane, Osbaldwick, for the past two years were entered in the prize draw after they increased their sales of the newspaper by about 30 copies a week.

The couple were unable to go on the trip so have donated it to a friend, who has made a donation to the NSPCC in return.

Updated: 09:13 Wednesday, May 07, 2003