South Shields woman on verge of tears as she wins Great North Run 2022 golden ticket

A lucky South Shields woman was brought to the verge of tears on Monday as she found a golden entry ticket to the Great North Run 2022.

To celebrate the opening of the ballot and return to South Shields, event organisers spent the day hiding five golden tickets around the town in a scavenger hunt.

Whoever found the Willy Wonka-esque ticket was granted free entry to the 2022 edition of the Great North Run, saving the £59 entry fee.

NewcastleWorld followed some of the winners as they pounced on the tickets in South Shields with the day culminating in a winner who struggled to hold back her emotion.

Kaye Nicholson said: "I've been looking all day and I quickly saw it and I live in South Shields so I came down and claimed it, I'm over the moon.

"This will be the fourth time I've done it, I've done it in 2013, 2014 and 2015, two times for charity and once with the ballot."

NewcastleWorld asked Kaye about what it is that makes the Great North Run so special.

Holding back tears, she said: "I'm getting emotional.

"The whole community comes together and raises millions for the local area and local small charities that don't usually get a lot of income so things like this really help."

This year's Great North Run will see the finish point return to South Shields after it was forced to change to finish in the city centre last year due to Covid.

It's a big boost for the town, which thrives on the day.

Kaye said: "It's amazing for South Shields, it's going to be great for the local B&Bs, the curry houses and the local community.

"We will come out in force this year to support."

There were four other lucky winners of the free entry tickets on Monday with locations including The South Marine Park Bandstand, The Bamburgh Pub and Zeera Indian Cuisine.

Craig Smith was another one of the victors, who said: "This is the second location, I thought it was going to be Minchella's so as soon as I'd seen it go on I ran up.

"I've done it five times before, missed it the last couple of years, but I'm looking forward to it now it's back in South Shields, it's iconic."