A COUPLE who won £1million on a Lotto ticket they nearly left behind at the shop have revealed how they’re spending the winnings.
Terry Kennedy and Kay Yoxall scooped up £1m on a winning National Lottery ticket and immediately quit their jobs.
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The South Yorkshire pair, who are now well travelled and renovating their dream home, say they still pinch themselves every day.
One year ago Terry, 29, matched five numbers plus the bonus ball after buying the Lotto Lucy Dip ticket.
And the moment he found out he’d won big went viral after his work mate shared a video of his reaction to social media.
But that was a lucky moment for more than one reason.
Terry had almost left the ticket behind when he bought it at a Barnsley shop, and the assistant had to call him back to grab it off the counter.
And it would be an understatement to say he’s glad the shop keeper called out to him – he and Kay, 26, have been ticking “dreams” off their bucket list ever since.
Terry said: “This win is something which has absolutely changed our lives forever, including the ability it’s given us to travel the world.
“It is always something you hope will happen to you but it is just a dream – you think it’s something that only happens to other people – not ordinary people like us.
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“And it may be a whole year on since we won but still, every single day, we have to pinch ourselves to remind us that this is real and it really did happen to us.”
Terry used to play football alongside England defender Harry Maguire, but bad luck with injuries led to him leaving Sheffield United.
He had gotten into working full time as a builder but quit as soon as he found out about the win – and Kay followed suit.
The couple then sat down and made a plan.
The 29-year-old said: “We both wanted to take time out to just let the news sink in and to live the dream.
“We wrote a bucket list of everything we wanted to do – I cannot believe how much we have ticked off the list already.”
Now they can say they’ve swum with dolphins, snorkelled with turtles, and fed elephants, as well as going skydiving and taken a ride in a helicopter.
They’ve also visited Las Vegas and Hawaii, and cruised the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Kay said they have “absolutely loved every minute since their win”, adding: “On average, we’ve managed to go somewhere different each month.”
The pair already have two more trips planned before Kay heads back to work in mid-January.
And while the couple are now well travelled, they love their downtime, too.
Terry spends much of it putting his building skills to work on their Rotherham property.
Kay added: “We are loving just having the time ourselves to build a dream home – just as we want it to be.
“We are really cherishing every moment of being able to do the work ourselves – with the support of professionals, where essential of course – to get our home to be just as we want it to be.
“The winning isn’t just about the money – it is about buying you that all important time which when you are working you just do not have.”
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