Chorley Mum's Lucky Bid at Preston Self Storage Centre Opening

A Chorley woman got more than she bargained for after a chance meeting with a US TV personality saw her walk away with a brand new iPad.

Mena Perrigo, from Coppull, agreed to go along to the opening of new Store First Preston self storage facility with daughter Lucia, after hearing that Storage Hunters’ TV star Jesse McClure would be the celebrity guest at the event.

Lucia is a big fan of the TV show – which sees Californian antique expert Jesse bid for unseen items inside storage units alongside a group of rival auctioneers – and Mena admits it’s one of her guilty pleasures too.

The Competition was Fierce at Preston Store First!

Once they arrived at Store First, Mena and Lucia found themselves going head-to-head in their own bidding war when they entered a competition to guess how many items were inside a miniature storage pod. The prize for the winning guess was an iPad mini.

And a few days later, mum Mena was delighted to find out she had triumphed over her daughter in her winning guess of 47 items – the closest to the actual magic number of 50.

Mena said: “I was amazed when I found out – Lucia came rushing up the stairs to tell me, practically hyperventilating! She had guessed 33 so I had it in the bag. I felt optimistic about my chances. It felt right!”

A Lucky Guess Turned Out Right!

Edinburgh-born Mena had clocked an advert for Jesse McClure’s appearance at the Millennium City Park storage facility on her daily school run past the facility – her job as a passenger assistant for Lancashire County Council takes her past Store First four times a day transporting Chorley children to a school in Longridge.

She said: “I pass the centre every day with five young lads on the bus so I’ve seen it going up very quickly. When I spotted the advert for Jesse’s appearance I couldn’t wait to tell Lucia about it! He was a lovely guy in the flesh – he had time for everyone.”

Mena plans to use her new iPad to set up online banking (with the help of daughter Lucia).