A mum of three from Eccles plans to spend big after winning £1 million on the the National Lottery.
Jane Wyatt, 49, only decided to put a pound on a Lucky Dip on at the last minute for Saturday’s draw and is now looking to spend the money on a new home in Boothstown and a family holiday.
Jane was one of 67 to win a life-changing prize in the Lotto Medal Draw celebrating each of the incredible medals won by Team GB the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Along with the £1,000,000 Jane also picked up her very own commemorative Lottery Gold medal.
The part-time civil servant couldn’t believe her luck when she was emailed by Lotto the next day saying she’d won a million pounds.
Jane said the feeling was “surreal”.
She said: “I really couldn’t believe it – I always hoped I’d win but when it actually happens it’s unbelievable.
“I saw it was a special draw with more millionaires being created after Great Britain’s success at the Olympics and just fancied my chances.
“I loved the Olympics and I was glued to the television throughout so I thought this could be my lucky draw.”
Jane said she plays the lottery online every week, but usually only wins one or two pounds.
“I thought it was only going to be £2 or maybe even £10 – my jaw hit the floor when I saw all those zeros.
“It still hasn’t sunk in and I’m not sure it ever will.”
On top of the usual Lotto draw on Saturday 27 August an extra 27 prizes of £1 million were available, to match the number of Team GB gold medals won in Rio, 23 extra prizes of £100,000 to equal the silver medal haul and 17 additional prizes of £50,000 to match the bronze medals won in Brazil.
Jane said her mum, Eileen was one of the first people she broke the news to: “When I told my mum the news that I had actually won, she kept saying ‘I told you so! I knew you were a lucky lady and it would happen to you one day!”
Her sons Jonathan, 22, Ben, 21, and Alex, 16, admitted they have already been pestering their mum for luxury items such as designer clothes, watches and a new car.
Further on the agenda for Jane is something extra special for her 50th birthday next year, in which she plans to treat her mum Eileen to a cruise.
Jane, who had ‘always dreamed of being a millionaire’ said she has no plans to retire just yet and has also been into work this week.
“I haven’t decided if I will definitely retire but it is fantastic to be in a position where I have that choice.”
Despite her big win, she adds that she will continue to play the lottery and has already bought a ticket for the next draw: “I’ve been playing it since it started and I’ll continue to keep playing.
“If it’s happened once, why can’t it happen again?”
Jane’s press event took place at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.
The centre has received £3m in National Lottery funding and has been key for training athletes such as Olympic gold medallists Jason Kenny and Laura Trott.
British athletes have won 700 Olympic and Paralympic medals since National Lottery funding was first awarded to elite athletes in 1997.
Alongside elite sport, The National Lottery has invested over £5 billion in grassroots sport to date, supporting more than 150 different sports
A total of 1,223 projects in Salford have benefited, including projects across the arts, sports, heritage, health, education, environment, charity and voluntary sectors.
