Stephen Schiltz loves everything about living in Wales, and believes that moving to Pontardawe in 2019 is one of the best moves he ever made.
It is not just that seven months after arriving in the South Wales town he won a million on the the lottery, he thinks he hit the jackpot at choosing such a great place to leave.
Life has certainly turned out very differently for the former lorry driver, who moved with his wife Lesley in 2019 to try and get on top of their debts and get away from the bailiffs who were calling.
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"London is such an expensive place to live and bring children up," explains the father to six children. "We just found it so hard to make ends meet and got to the stage where our debts were around £30,000. We just couldn't make it work, so sold our house and looked for somewhere better to live.
"My wife had links to the area and had spent lots of her childhood holidays in Tenby, so we started looking in south Wales and found our dream house in Pontardawe. We have no regrets, it is a wonderful place to live and the people are fantastic."
What made it even better for the couple was winning the lottery just before Christmas two years ago.
Stephen had actually bought his ticket a couple of days before realising he was a winner.
"I was driving the lorry and heard on the radio that someone from Wales had matched the numbers, I just thought 'lucky sod' and then never thought anything more about it," he said. "And then a couple of nights later I was out for a drink and remembered I had got a ticket.
"I thought I would check it on the app, so I scanned the ticket and it said I had won a million. I told my friends and they just laughed. Then one of them scanned and it started to dawn on us that it might right. I phoned my wife and she thought I was playing a prank on her.
"She told me to get up to the shop and check it. In the shop they scanned it and told me I had to phone Camelot."
That phone call is now being used as part of a new National Lottery advert featuring the most goosebump-worthy winner recordings. You can hear Stephen was jumping up and down and screaming after getting it verified that he had become an overnight millionaire.
And his Cockney roots come into their own with comical references to Del Boy and Rodney references in the call.
"I can't even describe that feeling, it was so lovely," he says. "I wish everyone could experience that sort of feeling in their life. Making that call was the best feeling in the world,” he says. “The realisation that all your money worries are gone is like nothing else.
"I was screaming and jumping up and down. We have always struggled with our finances but moving to Wales seven months before our win seems to have brought us good fortune. We have been so happy here."
Despite the big win, Stephen says he still gets concerned when his phone rings with a withheld number in case it is a debt collector, and the couple have been careful with their money.
Since his win, as well as volunteering, Stephen has come out of retirement to set up his own haulage-type company with business partner Mathew Williams - Schiltz Company Ltd.
He said, “I’m loving the haulage work Mathew and I are doing. Our win has given us this incredible opportunity to work on our own terms.
"Lesley is working back in training too but can pick how many days a week she wants to work. We were both keen to carry on working, in some shape or form, because we’ve always worked hard and that is good for mental health. It’s just great to be able to be our own boss."
The biggest purchases have been a Land Rover Discovery and a Mustang, as well as another home in Pontardawe for their daughter.
Lockdown prevented their dream trip to Australia, but it is back on the cards for next year, when they will visit Lesley’s relatives there.
Before lockdown, Steve returned to his and Lesley’s favourite spot in Crete, where they got married, to volunteer and built kennels for homeless dogs, alongside Mathew.
Stephen says: “Lesley and I have always loved Crete and I was keen to do something over there. Not having to work for a salary, meant I had that opportunity with Hectors [corr] House charity.
"We have been so lucky. People asked why we didn't buy a house as well but I tell them that we already have our dream home, and it is great to be able to help the family with their futures.
"It has been amazing for us, like we are living a second life. I used to think that the lottery was just a fix, and nobody actually won it until we saw the money in the bank.
"We are so happy that we moved to Wales, it has been very lucky for us and we love living her. It is a better way of life and my next project is to learn Welsh."
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