Two grandparents from Newcastle in the UK can finally retire after each winning a share of the £1 million jackpot in the same draw on Saturday.
“It was just surreal, it was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” said the British Tony Hedley, 68, happily to the press agency PA News last Saturday, according to “The Standard”.
According to British media, the Newcastle trucker was forced to pull over to the side of the road when his wife Christine allegedly called him to say they had just won a £1 million game in a postcode-based lottery.
The couple, who signed up individually, split the sum with four other neighbors who freelanced in the same postcode and won £166,666 each, the equivalent of more than $280,000, for a total of more than $565,000.
Without waiting a second, the truck driver, who had worked behind the wheel for 42 years, would have contacted his employer and announced his immediate resignation.
“I came back to base, parked the trailer and my boss said, 'You're lucky,' shook my hand and wished me well. I've worked all my life and I think it's time to take a break […] “It was just surreal,” he continued, according to the British newspaper.
For the duo, who can hardly believe that they are not “in a dream” and who are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary this year, the sum, in addition to some renovation and relief work, finally enables their two children and four grandchildren to relax and enjoy life and her upcoming great-grandchild.