Couple from Chipping Norton win £1million - just 24 hours after being made redundant

They have had a tough year with many challenges including the deaths of family members
David and Shelley Adams.David and Shelley Adams.
David and Shelley Adams.

A couple from Chipping Norton have won £1million - just 24 hours after being made redundant.

The couple, David (61) and Shelley Adams (52) watched their fortunes change literally overnight when their lucky numbers came up trumps in the Lotto draw.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

David said: “Many people would think the redundancy was the worst news but in fact it’s just the final straw in a catalogue of difficulties we have experienced.

David and Shelley Adams.David and Shelley Adams.
David and Shelley Adams.

"Just last year Shelley was diagnosed with MS and had to give up the job she loved as a community carer, putting a strain on our finances and heightening her clinical anxiety.

"In April we sadly lost my sister-in-law due to a massive heart attack, then two weeks in early May we received the news that sadly so many families have received this year, her husband, my brother, had passed due to Covid-19.

“It’s been a really tough time but we stick together and try to keep smiling, whatever life has thrown at us. Never in our wildest dreams did we think the next thing thrown our way would be £1M quid!”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

David discovered their luck had changed in the very early hours of Sunday morning.

David and Shelley Adams.David and Shelley Adams.
David and Shelley Adams.

Shelley said: “David plays online from time to time, always using two lines of numbers which are important to us.

"On Sunday morning, about 1.30am, David came into our bedroom saying ‘are you awake’, to which I pretty grumpily replied ‘well I am now’!

"But as he switched on the light I could see he was shaking so my grumpiness turned to worry as I asked him what was up, whereupon he told me we’d won the lottery. I was furious, I thought he meant a tenner!”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When a bleary-eyed Shelley looked at the phone David was holding in his shaking hand, she saw an array of noughts and it started to dawn on her that maybe they had won big. Grabbing David’s phone she burst into her son’s bedroom to ask him to check.

She said: “The poor man, he was meant to be up at 6am to get to work and there am I, waving a phone in his face and telling him we’ve won £1M.

"Needless to say none of us slept well the rest of the night and we were relieved to confirm the win with Camelot in the morning.”

Having faced many challenges over the years, few of them very positive, David and Shelley have been cautious in their celebrations but are slowly coming to terms with the magnitude of their win.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

David said: “We’ve always worked hard and know the value of money but this is a number far beyond anything we could ever comprehend.

“We are not going to rush any of our decisions and will take things slowly but there are a few plans for our winnings.

"Firstly a new car is on the cards, a Nissan Qashqai is top of the list, although as I currently drive a Ford Mondeo which has always seen me right, I might take a little browse around the Ford dealership too.”

While there are no plans to move house and leave the local community they love so much, when it’s safe to do so they will head off for a little while.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Shelley said: “We have friends and family in Canada who we thought we would only ever see online, certainly never in person. I’ve never even been on a plane or left the country before, it’s crazy to think the first time I do it will be First Class all the way!”

David bought their winning Lotto ticket online at www.national-lottery.co.uk. The winning Lotto numbers for the draw on Saturday August 1 were 4, 10, 13, 24, 53, 56 and the bonus ball was 22.

Related topics: