Gran overwhelmed by Lotto jackpot

Oct 19 2006 By Tony Deeley, Birmingham Mail

SHY great-grandparents Ronald and Irene Jones today admitted that winning a National Lottery fortune had left them totally overwhelmed.

The retired couple, who will celebrate their golden wedding in March, plan to swap their humble council home in Bilston for a dream bungalow after scooping a £9,355,603 half share of Saturday's triple rollover Lotto win.

But as 69-year-old Irene and her husband, aged 75, prepared for a new life of luxury, she admitted the shock of their big win had left her feeling ill.

"Since getting the news it has not been a happy experience. I have been sick all the time. It has not really sunk in yet," she said.

Irene and Ronald, who were born and bred in Bilston and attended local schools, first met while both working at a local steels firm and later worked together at a shoe company.

Irene, who raised three children, bought the winning ticket - numbers 8, 15, 24, 31, 37, and 45 - at Woolworth's in Church Street, Bilston, on Friday the 13th.

And although her living room mirror fell off the wall and shattered the same day, the couple's success ended her superstitions.

Irene said that until the news was broken publicly yesterday at a champagne reception at Wolverhampton's Park Hall Hotel, the couple had told no one of their big win except their immediate family. Now they plan to find a dream bungalow but have given no thought as to where it would be or whether to move from the area.

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