When Tony Barba up-ended a bag of Haifa’s potassium nitrate at the family’s Bury Water Nursery in Newport, Essex, he wasn’t expecting to find anything out of the ordinary. So when a round silver object plopped onto the ground at his feet he thought there must have been a mix-up at the factory and put it to one side.

It was only when Tony’s son-in-law, Franco, found the silver ball on a shelf three weeks later that its purpose was revealed. The ball was the Barbas’ ticket to a free digital camera in our ‘Golden Balls’ promotion.

Franco, and his brother-in-law, Elio, who look after the family’s Springtime Nursery in Stotfold, knew that a number of gold, silver and bronze balls have been added to bags of our standard fertilisers, and that discovery of any of these balls would lead to a prize.



Left to right: Stephen Appleton (Hortifeeds Area Sales Manager), Franco, Tony, Elio.

The Barbas were delighted to receive their digital camera, but now they’ve got to work out how to split it three ways. Our first winner – Duncan Ross, Production Manager at McGuffie and Sons, who found a bronze ball and won a personal CD player, had a similar problem – "I’m sure I’ll enjoy using it just as soon as I can get it back from my kids," he said.

The grand first prize, which still awaits the finder of one golden ball, is a 28" flat screen television and DVD player. Lucky winners who find silver balls can join the Barbas in being rewarded with a digital camera, and anyone else who finds a bronze ball will receive a personal CD player.

To claim a prize all you have to do is present us with the appropriate ball – but just remember to keep it to yourself.