THRILLED Alex Szukalski beat 30,000 people across the UK to win a Vespa scooter covered in his own design.

Alex, 25, who runs an artwork project called Kook Culture – a collection of handmade products and artwork – was stunned when he received a phone call to say his design would be created in real life.

Alex, of Kensington Road, Southend, entered the Design your own Vespa competition, by Glaceau Vitamin Water, in the summer.

The competition attracted 30,000 entries, with the top five designs picked to be made.

The scooter has now been delivered and Alex says it looks better than he ever imagined.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it.

The woman on the phone told me they’d shortlisted mine early on, which was really cool to hear.

“The artwork was something I’d created previously, but I layered it up to create the pattern for the competition.

“It was the prettiest but loudest design I had. A lot of the artwork I do is quite random and abstract, so it’s similar to that.”

The original artwork is available to view in the art collection link on the brand’s website, www.kookculture.co.uk He said: “I thought it would be good, but it’s so much better than I ever expected it to look.

“The scooter came from Italy, and the design looks like it’s been hand-painted on. The colours are wicked – they look really bright.

“I’m going to take it with me to any shows or events I do where I get to represent the brand.”