EUROMILLIONS’ fourth biggest winner has told how she still checks her gas bill every month and collects pennies in a jar.
Frances Connolly, 56, scooped a £115million jackpot in January 2019 and quickly set about making 50 of their friends and relatives rich.
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Frances and her husband Patrick, 58, who have three daughters and three grandchildren, gave away more than half their winnings.
The couple, who now live in a £1.9million five-bedroom home in the North East, splurged £60,000 on a electric Jaguar in their biggest spend.
And now, despite their millions, Frances still checks the bank every month to see what she’s paying for her gas and electric.
She told the Sunday Times: “The bank is full of money, but I still have a sensible attitude towards it.
“I look for a bargain everywhere I go and check the bank every month to see what I’m paying for gas and electric.
“I’ve got a big jar with coppers and coins in it, it’s a whisky bottle, my dad gave it to me years ago. Every time it gets full, it goes to charity.”
The couple bagged a total of £114,969,775.70 four years ago – making them the fourth biggest UK lottery winners in history.
The generous pair – a retired teacher and businessman – previously said one of the first things they did was to sit down and write a list of 50 people they wanted to share the money with.
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Frances, who was knitting when she found out the life-changing news, said most of lucky recipients don’t know they are going to get a portion of the huge sum.
She said at the time: “We don’t really do excited – perhaps I raised my voice just a bit at the time when I found out – but we celebrated with a cup of tea and a hug.”
Aside from helping out friends and family Patrick planned to splash out and swap his current Laguna for an Alfa Romeo, and buy a house.
He also wanted to retire from his work in manufacturing, shower his wife with gifts, buy a Jaguar and take a trip to the Maldives.
The couple revealed they will also share some of the money with their three daughters and granddaughters.
Grandmother Frances said: “I’ve had more joy from changing lives than buying jewellery. I knew from the start that I’d never become part of the jet set.
“Patrick joked for years that if we ever won the Lottery, he’d take away my mobile phone and never let me use the computer again because I’d give away the lot.
“The thing that makes me even happier is that every single person we gave money to has passed some of it on to other people.
“I can’t think of a day since winning the Lottery that I haven’t smiled.”
Frances hasn’t only just been bitten by the generosity bug – as the dedicated do-gooder volunteered for the St John Ambulance from age nine.
She then went on to set up an Aids helpline during her time as a student in Belfast, before settling down in Hartlepool with Paddy.
After winning the jackpot she launched two of her own charitable foundations.
And one gala fundraiser she hosted for 250 guests raised a whopping £100,000 for one of her beloved organisations.
She admits they will now have to draw up a new charity budget after busting it for the next decade.
She explained: “We do a budget every year, and we’re already on 2032’s budget.
“We might have to revise that.”
It comes after their daughter told how she “didn’t care” about getting a share of the riches.
And the couple revealed they celebrated with a cup of tea.
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