Life changing

Hull grandma wins £1M on Lotto Raffle

A grandma of five from Hull is now able to buy her own home for the first time after winning the Lotto Millionaire Raffle. The nurse will also be able to retire after 42 years' service now she has banked £1M.

Jill Walsh, who will celebrate her 60th birthday in February and is awaiting the arrival of a sixth grandchild in June is now able to buy her first ever home with her husband, Stephen (56).

Jill, who has been a nurse for 42 years, has already handed in her notice at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham where she worked on the cardiology ward. Jill and Stephen, an electrician, have always lived in rented accommodation but now their dream of owning a home of their own has become a reality.

“I just cannot believe that this is happening to me. I cannot believe it when I look at my bank balance and see all of those zeros – and just days before Christmas too! This is just amazing and the best thing ever to happen to Stephen and I.

“We are just going to take our time over things and think carefully about how we want to spend the money – but one thing is guaranteed – we will be having the best ever Christmas this year surrounded by our children and grandchildren.”

Online win

Jill, who plays online, had just finished a night shift when she went to check the winning numbers and raffle code on her phone.

“The first thing I saw was an email which said: There is good news about your ticket…. I just thought I had perhaps won £25. I then noticed all of the zeros – I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing.

“I immediately phoned Stephen who was in work – I told him to come home straightaway but to drive carefully and there was nothing to worry about as we now had a huge bank balance. He just thought it was one big joke! I actually think he only believed it was true when he saw the bank balance for himself!”

Life changing

As much as Jill loves her job she didn’t hesitate in handing in her notice bringing forward her retirement which was planned for 2017. Stephen will also be looking to cut down his working hours enabling them to spend more time with their family.

Plans for a special cruise around the Caribbean for Jill with Stephen for her 60th birthday can now be upgraded to business class. “We have never flown business class – and now this is totally within our reach. It really is unbelievable that this win has happened to ordinary people like us.”

Jill and Stephen currently live in a three bedroom rented semi. Now they are looking forward to moving into a four bedroom detached house with a garden for their grandchildren. “This is just the most wonderful feeling ever. We can relax without any money worries, living our retirement to the full surrounded by the people we love the most.”

And Jill says she has no plans to stop playing Lotto and already has her tickets for Saturday’s draw. The Lotto draw takes place every Wednesday and Saturday. Lotto costs £2 and includes the Millionaire Raffle, which creates two new UK millionaires every week – guaranteed!

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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