A man who won a massive £7.6 million lottery jackpot gave away more than half of his prize money for one reason.
Ray Wragg and his late wife Barbara gave away a generous amount of cash after they won big on the National Lottery way back in January of the year 2000.
The pair were shocked when it was revealed that they were going to receive the £7 million jackpot prize after having matched six numbers on their gamble. However, they didn’t do what most people would have in their situation.
Instead of spending it all on lavish holidays and homes, cars and food, the now-86-year-old and his wife chose to give away more than £5.5 million.
To celebrate, instead of buying the best champagne, the pair drink Guinness and wine before calling their children to announce the news. The two then ‘effectively retired’ from work that night and went on to treat themselves with some of the winnings.
Ray and Barbara Wragg won nearly £8 million back in 2000 (SWNS)
Ray bought a £52,000 white Range Rover and then the pair set sail on a cruise around the Caribbean. Then, they started giving away their money which led to them being invited to Buckingham Palace and the Pride of Britain awards.
The retired roofer and former nurse decided that this money was more than enough to go around to others, and thousands of people ended up benefiting from their gift.
Now, if you think they kept the remaining money and splurged on that, you’d be wrong again.
In fact, they went on to live modestly, with Ray still checking prices on socks to this very day.
This is because they said the money wasn’t going to change them from who they were, and so, they donated to 17 separate charities – including a hospital in Sheffield where they lived.
Because of their generosity, they received a special trophy from lottery organisers.
They then went to Sheffield Hallamshire Hospital to pay for a bladder scanner and Weston Park Hospital where their daughter had been treated for Ewing’s sarcoma.
They wanted to help children in a local hospice and bought 30 television sets so every child had their own to enjoy.
The pair gave away over £5 million to numerous charities (SWNS)
On top of their hospital efforts, they also paid for 250 children, who came from a deprived inner-city school, to go to Sheffield’s pantomime for six years on the trot during Christmas.
Sadly, Barbara passed away from sepsis in 2018 at the age of 77, but she considered their winnings as being ‘too much for two people’.
Right now, Ray believes the same thing and told the BBC: “I was working, Barbara was working, the kids were working. We were all right. Like other families do, we saved up.
“It changed our lives but not us as persons. That’s stood us in good stead. I still look at the price of a pair of socks you know.”
Barbara visited the Royal Hallamshire Hospital breast clinic in 2010 and donated £5,000 after seeing a donations pot on the side, as well as making joint donations with Ray at the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, the Make a Wish Foundation, Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, the Meningitis Trust and Help The Aged.
They also helped a group of World War Two veterans on a trip to honour fallen comrades in 2003 and paid for 50 war heroes to visit Italy for the 60th anniversary of the battle of Monte Cassino in 2004.
The couple continued to live a modest life, despite the millions that suddenly appeared in their bank account (Getty Stock Image)
What other charities did they help?
Here’s a list:
Meningitis Trust, Macmillan Nurses, Childline, Help The Aged, Help For Heroes, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Monte Cassino Veterans, Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Bents Green School Sheffield, Manor Boxing Boys and Girls Club, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Park Hill School Sheffield, Park Hill Lodge Sheffield, Help A Hallam Child, Norton House Country Club, Breast Cancer Research headed by Professor Malcom Reed at Sheffield University.
What amazing Samaritans.Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: UK News, Money, Charity, National Lottery
Britt Jones
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Published 21:22 19 Feb 2024 GMT
Couple who won £35 million on lottery only ended up with nothing after major error
Edwina and David Nylan, from Fleetwood, ended up with nothing.
As you’d probably expect, your chances of winning the lottery are pretty slim – one in 45 million to be exact.
However, Edwina and David Nylan, from Fleetwood, Lancs, were one of the lucky few to win a £35 million lotto jackpot.
But unfortunately for them, they ended up with nothing because of an unfortunate blunder.
Couple miss out on £35m due to simple mistake
Credit: BBC
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The couple claimed they matched six of the winning lottery numbers while using the Lottomobile app during the festive period.
And they fully expected to see the new year start with millions of pounds in their back pocket.
However, that proved to be far from the case.
Edwina and David claim they bought the ticket for the draw on December 23, 2015.
But they quickly discovered a problem as they didn’t have the cash to go pay for the purchase of the ticket.
The couple added more money into the account and landed the numbers 01 – 02 – 04 – 19 – 28 – 41.
ITV
“David has an app on his phone which he uses to generate random numbers,” Edwina said.
“We scribbled them down, and they are stored on his phone.”
Following the draw, the pair tried to claim the whopping £35,410,034 jackpot prize – but they were told Camelot had no record of the transaction.
“When the numbers came up, it looked like we had got all six and had won the jackpot but when I checked, there was nothing from Camelot,” Edwina added.
“I rang customer services at Camelot and the person I spoke to said they could see from their records that we had intended to buy those numbers but they said the purchase did not go through because we only had 60p in our account.
She continued: “We had tried to top up the account, and hadn’t realised that hadn’t registered either.
“You get an email to confirm your purchase, but I didn’t remember to check because it was just before Christmas and I was so busy.
“Camelot has now told me they are looking into it with their IT department.”
Totally gutting, but that hasn’t stopped the couple from continuing to play the lottery.
ITV
“We have played for years, and had our online account for some time, so it is not as if we didn’t know what we were doing,” she said.
“I have just had to carry on with things and not get too down.
A spokesperson for Camelot said: “The player did attempt to purchase an online Lotto ticket multiple times on December 23 from 7pm onwards (the cut-off to buy tickets is 7.30pm), however, there were insufficient funds in the player’s account – so the attempted purchases were not successful.
“The player would have received an error message on every occasion confirming this.
“Only tickets that have been successfully purchased can be entered into the draw.
“So it is up to players to ensure that they have adequate funds in their account to complete a ticket purchase.”Featured Image Credit: ITV
Topics: Money, National Lottery, UK News
Callum Jones
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Published 17:09 7 Jan 2024 GMT
Woman spotted ‘angel’ in sky moments before winning the lottery
A coincidence, perhaps?
A woman spotted an ‘angel’ in the sky over a church where the ‘ghost of Christmas’ is said to be buried just moments before winning the lottery.
On New Year’s Eve, Tracey Preston was leaving the church of St Endellion in Port Isaac, Cornwall, when she looked up to the sky and came across something rather peculiar.
She saw clouds shaped like a giant angel reaching down towards her with the light of the sun shining through its outstretched hand.
“I looked up and I could not believe what I was seeing,” Tracey said. “I grabbed my phone and took pictures. I was in awe and feeling extremely humbled. Never would I see that image again. I hope it’s a good omen for 2024.”
Wikipedia
Then when she got home, Tracey realised she had won a nice amount on the lottery – a coincidence, perhaps?
“When I got home that day, I had an email from the National Lottery saying I’d won £214. A good omen indeed,” she said.
St Endellion Church is somewhat famous in that part of the world as it’s the final resting place of Dr Miles Marley, the man whose name was the inspiration for Charles Dickens’ Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol.
Tracey’s friend and Cornwall historian Barry West discovered the Dickens’ links to Cornwall and Miles Marley’s gravestone in the churchyard.
It was found that Miles Marley passed away at the age of 56 in 1854, someone who is believed to be the inspiration behind the naming of Scrooge’s former business partner, who arrives to haunt him from the grave.
CornwallLive/BPM
Funnily enough, the places where the ghost of Christmas Present takes the misery that is Scrooge bears a striking resemblance to the Cornish moors and standing stones.
As well as the 18th-century Longships lighthouse at Land’s End, these are all places Dickens had visited just a year before the world-renowned book came out.
But as for the angel formation captured by Tracey, that is very special indeed.
West said: “If you look closely you will see the most amazing angel. This must surely be one of the most iconic images created by nature for Christmas 2023. Perhaps this was the Angel Gabriel or maybe St Endellieneta looking over us?”
Saint Endelienta was a Cornish saint of the fifth and sixth centuries. She is also thought to be a daughter of the Welsh King Brychan.Featured Image Credit: CornwallLive/BPM/Wikipedia
Topics: Weird, National Lottery, UK News
Callum Jones
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Updated 16:29 5 Aug 2023 GMT+1Published 12:46 5 Aug 2023 GMT+1
Man who won £6.5 million lottery jackpot back working normal job after losing all his winnings
He hit the lottery jackpot back in 1995.
You might think that winning the lottery would be a dream come true, but for one person it seems to have turned into a nightmare.
We’ve all fantasised about what we would do if we won the lottery. It could range from the luxurious to the more mundane things like paying off student loans or putting all the money in a trust and living off the interest.
BBC/Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Lee Ryan became known as the ‘Lotto Lag’ when he became the first UK lottery winner to serve time in prison.
After winning in 1995, he spent his way through his £6.5 million win, buying a mansion with a pool, luxury cars, a helicopter, and even a plane.
By 2010 he was living on the streets and calling his lottery win a ‘curse’.
He told The Mirror: “People always think, ‘Oh, if I win tomorrow that will be the end of my worries’. That’s just not true, this is just the beginning of your worries.
“You will see who is who in your life, even in your own family it becomes fractured. It’s all just an illusion really. All these possessions trap you. People think you’re doing well because of what you’ve got, but I know people with so much money who are miserable.”
However despite going through a difficult time he has since managed to turn things around, and is now working as a painter and decorator.
Despite his win, he says that he now feels more at peace than he has before.
Lee Ryan
He said: “I believe in the law of attraction, so I think I will win again, but it won’t mean any more to me than it did before. I know it sounds weird, but I don’t need anything.”
He added: “If I had my time again, I’d open a hotel for the homeless. Then you feel you’ve done something worthwhile.”
Lee now lives in Twickenham, and compared the amount of wealth and possession he had to a ‘prison’. He claimed that he was always worried and on ‘constant lookout’.
He even said that he sometimes spends the night in a tent, just to remind himself that he is ‘bombproof’.
He said: “Now I’m just looking for that middle ground where you still have to strive for what you want, rather than just having it handed to you.”
“There was a time when I prayed for my pound back. But now at this point I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life.”Featured Image Credit: BBC/Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Topics: News, Money, UK News, National Lottery
Kit Roberts
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Published 17:22 16 Dec 2023 GMT
Builder who won £105m EuroMillions prize stunned neighbour with kind gesture
Steve Thomson won the jackpot back in 2019, but managed to remain loyal to his customers.
A former EuroMillions winner once defied all odds and managed to stay humble upon collecting his prize.
Cast your mind back to 2019 – 42-year-old Steve Thomson had just discovered he was in for a very cosy Christmas.
In November, the father-of-three discovered that he’d won a tasty £105million on the lottery.
Yes, dreams really can come true.
PA
At the time, Thomson was just a humble tradesman who owned his own business selling windows and conservatories to the residents of Selsey in West Sussex.
However, after securing the jackpot, he went on to shut up shop and later spent his earnings on a stunning six-bedroom terrace house.
According to The Mirror, the property was purchased a year after he won his cash and reportedly featured a swimming pool and a tennis court.
Four years on and it’s claimed that Thomson, now 47, no longer plies his trade as a builder.
Instead, he spends time with his family at their home in Kent and likes to walk their dog.
However, the businessman didn’t just earn his moolah and cancel any remaining customer contracts.
Pixabay
Instead, the EuroMillions star actually completed a kind act for one of his neighbours and proved that there really are some good people in the world.
A month after winning the lottery, the millionaire was still working on a conservatory for one of his customers.
In an act of goodwill, he reportedly decided not to charge them for the project and instead insisted that they kept their cash for the festive season.
At the time, The Sun allegedly spoke to the neighbour, who did not want to be named.
They said: “He didn’t charge. It shows he’s a top bloke, a decent man.
PA.
“We didn’t ask him about the win because he’s probably had enough of talking about it.
“I think it’s quite nice for him to be able to work still because it takes his mind off the pressures of what to do with the money.”
Despite the lotto king hanging up his hard hat in 2020, a close friend recently reported that he was missing the workplace ‘banter’.
In an interview with The Sun, the source allegedly said: “Steve obviously feels really lucky to be in the position he’s in.
“But nothing could’ve prepared him for the change in his life after he won the EuroMillions.
Spain Hunts For Mystery Lottery Winner (360p)
Credit: Euro News
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“He’s a very modest, humble bloke and loved his life as a builder.
“Steve misses the job and all that comes with it, like the great lads he worked with and the brilliant banter they had together on site.”
It’s also claimed that despite owning a Lamborghini, a Tesla and three Range Rovers, the devoted dad still drives his wife’s second-hand Volvo.