a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Lotto winner sat up all night drinking tea and quit job after £4m jackpot reveal
A Devon couple is set to embark on an early retirement, trading their demanding careers for a life of leisure, after scooping nearly £4 million on the National Lottery.
Jon Waring, 57, a radio operator with Devon and Cornwall Police for 16 years, has already handed in his notice. His wife, Lucy, 48, a nurse at Torbay Hospital, is also working her final weeks before leaving her role.
The couple, from Paignton, who have a 15-year-old daughter, plan to embrace a more relaxed pace of life thanks to their Lotto jackpot win. Their immediate plans include fulfilling long-held dreams, with Mr Waring, a keen Harley-Davidson enthusiast, eyeing a trike bike, while Mrs Waring's top priority is a new hot tub. The substantial win promises a comfortable and adventurous retirement for the family.
A new family home in the Paignton area is also high on the wish list.
Mr Waring said his huge win, which saw him match six numbers in the Lotto draw on May 31 still does not feel real.
'I keep thinking I am going to wake up from a dream,' he said.
The family are all keen musicians and plan to create a music room in their new home where they can all play as well as listen to their favourite bands.
'This will be the perfect place to display the family's guitar collection – and potentially add to it too,' Mr Waring said.
'As a family, we love rock music and now the world really is our oyster – we hope to get the chance to attend gigs up and down the country.
'This win will just enable us all to slow down, enjoy life – and of course hit that road on the sunny days ahead on our new trike.'
Mr Waring woke at 4am to discover he had won the £3,966,543 jackpot.
'Something just made me go to check my emails and I saw an email saying I had won a prize,' he said.
'I went to Google the winning numbers and noticed there was just one winner – and knew it must have been me.
'I couldn't quite believe it – I knew they were my numbers. I turned my tablet off – left it five minutes – and then turned it back on to double and triple check.
'I woke Lucy, and she said, still half asleep, 'Is it April 1?'. I said no, it is June.
'We just could not believe it – there was no way we were getting back to sleep. We just sat and drank tea – we must have had 10 cups between us.'
Mr Waring, who is also a keen rugby fan, said a box at Exeter Chiefs and a trip to see the Lions tour are also on his wish list, together with a new car, an Audi Q7.
'It's a complete change of lifestyle – it won't change us, but it will change what we can do. And the pace at which we do it, too.'
He said with the nature of his job, and his wife's, it has been hard to get holidays to match up and the couple do not even have current passports.
'As a result of our shift work, we have not had a proper holiday together for a long, long time,' he said.
'We are now really looking forward to booking something and knowing we can just holiday when we choose. Perhaps a trip to New Orleans for the music.
'It's all the things you dream about trying and seeing but know you never will, until something like this happens.'
Mr Waring has always played Lotto each week since the game started and now plays online.
His winning numbers were: 8, 11, 12, 16, 20 and 33.
