A mother of two from Bolton is celebrating today after scooping £1m and a luxury holiday to a private island in the EuroMillions Mega Friday draw on 28 August.
Annette Dawson, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday, said: “Life really does begin at 40. What has happened to me and my family is absolutely phenomenal, there is no other word for it.”
In addition to the £1m cash prize, Annette will fly business class with three guests of her choice to Song Saa, a private island off the coast of Cambodia and stay in a Royal Villa on the resort. Charter A had the privilege of flying Annette to the airport, ready for her trip.
Annette said: “Winning a million pounds is totally life-changing but winning this amazing holiday too is just spectacular.”
Annette was on holiday with her husband, Andrew, 44, when she discovered she had won.
The couple were in Bulgaria when Annette, who always plays online, received an email telling her there was news about her account and to check her National Lottery account. Unable to access her account from abroad, she text her sister back home and asked her to check.
“My sister initially text and said she thought I had won £1,000 and then there was another text saying you have won £1m, call, call me now, you have got to call me immediately.
“I really thought it was a wind up as my sister is always playing jokes on me. I phoned her straight away and she just burst out crying – so I knew it must really be true.”
Annette and Andrew still had more than week of their holiday remaining so decided to go on a spending spree in Bulgaria.
Annette added: “The only thing I could find to buy was a suit for myself which cost £38 – everything is just so cheap there.
“We carried on as normal – but looking back now I think I was probably in a complete daze. It was only when we returned from holiday earlier this week that the news really started to sink in and we have had nothing but sleepless nights since with the excitement of everything.”
Annette, who is an accountant at an estate agents, says she has no plans to give up work.
She added: “I absolutely love my job so will definitely be continuing to work.
“I just cannot believe that I will never have to worry about money ever again. We can pay off all of our debts and our mortgage and ensure our two daughters have a great nest-egg for their futures.”
A new car is also high on the shopping list and Annette has already put a deposit on an aqua blue Audi TT with a cream leather interior.
Andrew will also continue in his job as a retail manager at a ski shop in Adlington.
Annette, who also won £11.30 on the same ticket, says she has no plans to stop playing now.
She added: “I would play when I had some spare cash but now I will be playing religiously every week.
“Members of my family who haven’t previously played on a regular basis have now started to play too – my brother said – this just proves families like us can win.
“There really are no words which can describe the feelings I am going through right now – knowing I will never ever have to worry about money ever again and never again will I be penny-pinching. I really can now live the dream of winning the lottery – because I have!”
The EuroMillions draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday. EuroMillions costs £2 and includes the UK Millionaire Maker, which creates two new UK millionaires every week – guaranteed!
EuroMillions Mega Friday draws take place on the last Friday of each month. It creates multiple £1 million winners who receive life-changing prizes as they start their millionaire life.
The National Lottery changes the lives of winners like Annette as well as communities across the UK – players raise, on average, over £34m for National Lottery-funded projects every week.
In Annette’s home town of Bolton there have been 1,498 individual National Lottery grants, totalling more than £84m, funding projects across the arts, sports, heritage, health, education, environment, charity and voluntary sectors.
These include:
- Bolton Gymnastics Club
- Bolton Lads and Girls Club
- Bolton Wanderers Ladies Football Club
- Bolton Rugby Club
- Bolton Wanderers Community Trust
For more information on National Lottery funding please visit their
website. If you fancy treating yourself to the luxury lifestyle for the day, Charter A offer a wide range of helicopters and private jets for hire. For any enquiries, get in touch with our professional team
here.
“My sister initially text and said she thought I had won £1,000 and then there was another text saying you have won £1m, call, call me now, you have got to call me immediately.
“I really thought it was a wind up as my sister is always playing jokes on me. I phoned her straight away and she just burst out crying – so I knew it must really be true.”
Annette and Andrew still had more than week of their holiday remaining so decided to go on a spending spree in Bulgaria.
Annette added: “The only thing I could find to buy was a suit for myself which cost £38 – everything is just so cheap there.
“We carried on as normal – but looking back now I think I was probably in a complete daze. It was only when we returned from holiday earlier this week that the news really started to sink in and we have had nothing but sleepless nights since with the excitement of everything.”
Annette, who is an accountant at an estate agents, says she has no plans to give up work.
She added: “I absolutely love my job so will definitely be continuing to work.
“I just cannot believe that I will never have to worry about money ever again. We can pay off all of our debts and our mortgage and ensure our two daughters have a great nest-egg for their futures.”
