My sister-in-law won £9.3m jackpot but gave us ‘stingy’ gift – friends are gobsmacked but it doesn’t come as surprise
A WOMAN whose sister-in-law won a £9.3million jackpot has slammed her for giving a "stingy" gift - telling gobsmacked friends it doesn't come as a surprise.
May Powell, from Telford in Shropshire, was thrilled after her husband Len's sister Irene Jones scooped the lottery prize.
Irene, 69, had vowed to "look after" her whole family after winning the jackpot in October 2007.
At the time, she said: "We're going to ensure that all our loved ones are taken care of."
OAP Irene posted Len and May a cheque, which their son Mark opened on their behalf.
He was shocked to find a cheque for just £1,000 - less than 0.02% of the cash prize.
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The cheque came with a note from Irene, which read: "Hope it will help you out with the struggle with money.
"Treat yourselves. Love Irene."
May told the : "I'm not surprised, Irene and Ron always watched the pennies.
"Our friends said 'is that all they've given you?'
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"But we've decided to see it as a bonus and have sent Irene a thank you letter."
Len and May put the £1,000 sum towards a walk-in shower at their Telford home.
Irene splashed out on a £300,000 bungalow in Wolverhampton, where she had lived in a council house before winning the lottery.
She said: "I'm not going to say anything about money because it always stirs things up."
But the pensioner told the : "The funniest thing is I bought the ticket on Friday the 13th.
"The mirror in the living room had fallen from the wall and smashed into a million pieces.
"I now don't believe in superstitions and my luck has definitely changed for the better."
Another famous lottery winner who netted a cool £11million was so tight that he "never got a round in".