LOTTO LUCK
We won £1m in the EuroMillions lottery – but we still won’t splash out on ‘rip-off’ tourist attraction
A COUPLE who scooped £1million in the EuroMillions lottery have revealed they refused to pay for a tourist attraction as they thought it was a “rip off”.
Ruth Giblin and husband Rob pocketed the life-changing sum after matching one of the UK Millionaire Maker codes last July.
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They have been putting the money to good use ever since and said Ruth's first expenditure was on an eye test and glasses, as she couldn’t afford them before.
The couple have also paid off the mortgage on their Telford, Shropshire, home, had a new kitchen fitted and started work on an extension at Rob’s parents’ house.
They also took their teenage children, a son, 17, and a daughter, 14, on holiday to Italy, where they visited Rome, Florence, and Venice last year.
It also gave their kids the chance to experience their first flight.
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After that they went on a Christmas trip to London, the first time they had been to the capital, and they're planning a holiday to New York in December.
And they treated the family to a classic UK seaside holiday to Rock, in Cornwall.
Ruth, who works as a leisure centre supervisor, told the : “It has sunk in, sort of. I do still have some pinch myself moments and then some days I go back to the old days when we couldn’t afford much."
The 45-year-old mum added: "I remember not wanting to pay for a gondola trip in Venice because it was €80 (£68).
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“I could have afforded it, but it seemed a bit of a rip off. I am quite a practical person, the first thing I bought was an eye test and glasses, having not been able to afford those before the win.”
Ruth said they discovered they’d had a huge win via the National Lottery app.
Speaking last year, she said: "When I logged into my National Lottery app, I could see I had only matched one number, but it was telling me I had won £1 million, I was very confused.
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"We talked all the way home about what we would do if it was true, but I was trying not to get my hopes up."
The pair finally got hold of Camelot and as soon as they were confirmed as millionaires, they burst into tears.
They rushed to wake their two kids up to share the life-changing news and went across the road to tell Ruth's parents.
The news was all the sweeter as it was her dad's birthday.
Rob, 49, has resigned from his engineering job, allowing him to pursue a career as a teaching assistant.
He said at the time: “Family is very important to us. The win has meant we are paying for an extension onto my parents’ house.
"My parents look after my sister who has additional needs, so an extension will mean everyone has more space.
“I can treat the kids and they can look forward to holidays like many other children their age, something we’ve never been able to do for them."
He added: “I had the car serviced the other week. They called to say I needed some new tyres I just told them to carry on. Last year I would have been in bits.
“The relief the win has given us is amazing, this security feels so good.
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“I am now looking at becoming a teaching assistant. I’m an engineer and love building stuff, so the thought of helping children make things in a DT class is very appealing.
"Without the win, I’d have had to continue in my job until I retired, never having tried anything else. Sometimes I have to pinch myself.”
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