She is now rich enough to buy a Maserati and holiday in Monaco, but the latest lottery winner insists a Skoda and caravanning in Skegness are still good enough for her.
Vicky Mitchell, 42, was celebrating with her partner of 18 years, Adam Fry, 38, after she won £10,000 every month for the next 30 years – the top prize in the national lottery’s Set For Life game.
Despite their newfound wealth, the couple, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said they would not be changing their holiday plans for caravanning in the Lincolnshire seaside town of Skegness next year.
“You can’t beat a caravan holiday with the kids. They love it. We’ve already booked for next year,” Mitchell told journalists, although she said she also hoped to travel to European cities such as Budapest.
Fry said the current family car was a 14-year-old Vauxhall, which was “falling to bits”. “I Googled ‘best family car’ and Skoda came up as best family car,” said Mitchell. “So I’ve seen a little one that’ll be enough for me.”
Mitchell, a part-time administration assistant, said the prize was her third lottery win in a week. Having won £10 on the Thunderball draw, she reinvested the cash and won £5 five days later on the Set for Life game.
She then spent the last £1.50 left in her online account on the 12 August draw. “I was half asleep when I saw the email and thought: ‘Great, it’s another fiver.’ I couldn’t work it out and see what I had actually won,” said Mitchell.
She said the money would provide financial security for her two sons. “It’s still sinking in, but whereas before I would see a jumper for one of my sons and think that I couldn’t afford it, I can now just buy it.”
The couple – who currently have a joint income of under £30,000 – said they planned to continue working, but were considering moving from their two-bed terrace to a bigger property once they had saved a deposit.
Fry said the money would allow him to pay off family debts. He said he would continue to account for every penny of their finances on his three-month rolling spreadsheet.