Bethany Tennick, age seven and from York, was treated to a dream shopping spree at York's McArthurGlen Designer Outlet branch of the the world-famous toy retailer, Hamleys.

After being chosen as the winner of a 'letter to Santa' competition, Bethany was rewarded with £100-worth of Hamleys toys as her prize.

Grace Hucey, store manager of Hamleys, said: "We picked Bethany as our winner out of hundreds of entries. We wanted to celebrate the opening of the store at the centre by sponsoring this annual competition."

Bethany's mum Rose Tennick said: "We were overwhelmed to hear that Bethany had won, it came as a big surprise.

"Bethany had such a great time choosing her presents and as they were outlet prices she got so much more for her money. We'd also like to thank the staff at Hamleys as they were so helpful."

Updated: 15:18 Tuesday, January 10, 2006