A key worker and his partner have scooped an incredible Set for Life lottery prize - meaning they will see £10,000 deposited into their bank account every month for a year.
Rich and Kim Pearson, from Upminster, Essex, have spent years saving - putting life's luxuries on hold as they worked towards a deposit for a home.
Now they plan on upgrading their lifestyle thanks to their National Lottery win.
Rich, 30, and Kim, 33, matched the five main numbers in the Set For Life draw on Monday 11 May and will now be able to look for their own dream family home for themselves and rescue dog Loki.
Kim said: “For a couple of years we’ve put all the luxuries, like meals out and holidays, on hold so we could save for a deposit but when we saw Loki needed a home he became our essential, not luxury.
"We can’t help thinking that maybe fate decided to help give us a home because we’d given Loki his forever home.”
The couple’s winning adventure started on Monday morning when ‘on a whim’ Kim played online.
She added: “I play the lottery every now and then and usually just Lotto so I’ve no idea why I decided to try my luck with the Set For Life draw that night. I bought three lines, two Lucky Dip and one with our own numbers.
“The following morning I was walking Loki before settling down to work and saw an email on my phone with news about my ticket.
"I assumed it was a few quid so didn’t bother to check it properly until later that morning when I was back at my desk. I logged on and saw it was just a bit more than a few quid!”
Utterly stunned, Kim, an Office Manager, remembers sitting at her desk, starring at the screen for a good two minutes before bounding up the stairs and jumping on Rich, screaming ‘we’ve won the lottery!’
Rich, a key worker in the infrastructure sector, said: “I had been working a night shift so was in the deepest sleep when Kim jumped on me.
"I had no idea what she was on about to begin with but it quickly sunk in when she showed me her phone and how much we’d won. It was certainly one of the more surreal starts to the day!”
The pair immediately called Camelot to confirm the win before Kim continued with her work commitments and Rich got ready for his night shift.
Kim said she then celebrated with a glass of wine after Rich went to start another shift.
With the win the couple can look forward to good times ahead with their friends and family when it is safe to do so. They will also swap their online browsing to a committed house hunt for the long awaited dream home, with a lovely garden for Loki top of the ‘must have’ list.
Kim added: “This is a strange time to win because we haven’t been able to celebrate with those closest to us but when we safely can, that celebration will be all the sweeter.
“We will definitely be treating everyone, and we may think about a holiday to see family in New Zealand but all that is some way off. So for now, we will keep ourselves safe, keep Loki entertained and out of mischief, and crack on with our house hunt.”
