A Stroud man has won a diamond and a tour of the Dale Vince’s factory after ten Willy Wonka-style tickets were hidden in copies of Dale Vince’s book.

Richard Driscoll, from Stroud, and nine others were chosen in a lottery held this afternoon by Mr Vince, the founder of Ecotricity and SkyDiamond.

Each diamond won by the entrants is worth one carat. The tour will not be held until lockdown ends.

SkyDiamonds are formed by capturing carbon dioxide from the air - a carbon-negative alternative to traditional diamond mining, which produces a large amount of CO2.

The project features in the epilogue of Mr Vince’s book Manifesto, launched in November last year, which tells his life story and sets out a zero-carbon plan for the UK.

The other winners were: 

  • Christine Gell - Cheltenham 
  • Kelly Wilkinson - Ramsgate
  • Robert Nunney - Manchester
  • Georgina Dunne - Washington 
  • Tom Stacey - Essex 
  • Christopher Adair - Dungiven
  • Mark Griffin - Ulverston 
  • Barbara McEvoy - Birmingham 
  • Liam Welsh - Gedling