Free holiday home? Here's the keys and no catches
A major holiday parks group is giving away holiday caravans this spring - and they're for keeps with no catches. Families will simply be handed the keys and become the home's new owner.
It's then theirs to enjoy whenever they wish, and to rent out if they also fancy a second income.
The caravan holiday home may be up to 15 years old, and not as spacious as more recent models. But it will have had a rigorous safety-check - and be good for at least a few more years of active life.
Like ordinary buyers who pay up to £200,000 for their holiday homes, the owners of the free units will simply pay the standard charge for connection to services, and the annual pitch fee.
Director of Park Holidays UK, Tony Clish, said that a successful trial of the scheme last year saw 45 caravan holiday homes being given away - which is why it's now being rolled out across the group:
"We can do this because every year many owners trade up to brand new holiday homes, and some leave behind smaller, older models - and it's these we offer at no cost, " said Tony.
The new owners won't even have to pay for furniture, beds, carpets and major kitchen appliances such as an oven and fridge: they are all included in the holiday home.
"It's an absurdly generous offer, but what we're doing is giving people a low-cost way of enjoying holiday caravan ownership in the expectation that some will trade up the future," said Tony.
"But there will be absolutely no pressure for them to do so, and they can simply hand back the keys at any time - or even take their home with them, if they wish," he said.
Park Holidays UK's 25 seaside parks in southern England offer facilities such as swimming pools, children's clubs, attractions, and sports facilities - plus professional shows staged every night.
These facilities are free to owners of the no-cost caravans, as they are to all guests.
More information about the free caravan holiday homes, their locations and their availability - which will vary throughout the year - can be found at: ParkHolidaysUK.com (click "Holiday Home Ownership" on the home page, and look under the left-hand "News" section)
