I bought two lottery tickets on a whim and came out with £370K – I feel lucky, but I have a heartbreaking regret
A LOTTO player who came out with a £370,000 prize says he feels lucky but has one regret.
Ted Owens, 76, from Rhymney, South Wales, doubled his postcode lottery winnings by buying two tickets on a whim.
Now the retired steelworker is the richest man in the street.
Ted beamed: “I reckon I’m the luckiest man in the luckiest town in the world.
“I usually buy one ticket but for some reason, I bought two that month and it sure paid off."
But in a heartbreaking admission, he says there's one thing he wishes was different.
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He said: “I just wish I’d won the money eight years ago while my wife was still alive. We’d have had some fun with it.”
He splashed out £15,000 taking his three children, their partners and his granddaughter on a nine-day cruise to the Caribbean and South America.
He also bought a £20,000 Hyundai car.
Ted lives in the "UK's luckiest town" which won nearly £4million in total in Lotto prize money.
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Ecstatic locals of Rhymney scooped the jackpot with 435 people sharing the win.
With a whopping £3.7million dished out in total, residents have seen their lives transformed after striking gold.
It's seen Channel 4 visit the small town to find out how the win has helped locals deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
Nine lucky neighbours shared the biggest portion of the People’s Postcode Lottery prize - landing £185,000 each, including Ted, who won the sum twice.
Former coal merchant David Price, nicknamed Lionhead, was another of the £185,000 winners.
But he sadly died three months later from heart failure at the age of 65 after battling sepsis and long Covid.
His emotional niece Emma Taylor, 24, spoke of the moment they were told he had won.
She said: “It was like a Hollywood film. We both started crying when we saw the cheque. It was so exciting.
“So many people are struggling and to see his face light up was magical.
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"I feel sad he never got to enjoy the win but before he passed away, he bought himself a quad bike.
“He also gave everyone in the family a share of the winnings. Nothing made him happier than giving people money and seeing their smile.”