Lottery winners declared bankrupt
A couple from the West Midlands have been declared bankrupt – four years after scooping more than a quarter of a million pounds on the National Lottery.
But defiant award-winning publicans Allen and Pauline Parkes insist: "We have done nothing to be ashamed of." Mrs Parkes threw a £10,000 party at the Angel Inn in Wednesfield when they won £258,000.
Today the 46-year-old said: "I am holding my head high and do not want people's sympathy.
"It is easy to just give up but as far as we are concerned the only way forward is to carry on. We want to prove to ourselves and everybody else that we can still be successful."
The pair were declared bankrupt at Wolverhampton County Court this month over a £19,000 debt allegedly owed to Marston Brewery.
Mr Parkes, aged 47, who has won the coveted Cask Ale pub of the year title, took over a second licenced house, The True Briton in Wolverhampton, with his wife after their lottery success.
The move sparked a dispute with Marston's over the conditions of the licence at those premises that led to the couple being evicted from both the Angel Inn and The True Briton pubs by the brewery who sued them.
The couple launched a counter claim that was abandoned before they were declared bankrupt.
She explained: "It was a David Versus Goliath struggle we could not win."
The pair became managers of the Jolly Collier in Old Heath Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, last year and have trebled its profits.
Mrs Parkes concluded: "I do not regret the lottery win. It brought good things as well as bad. At least we have got a roof over our head and are doing a job we love."
