Tipton father and daughter win £4m on the lottery
A father and daughter from Tipton have scooped almost £4 million on the National Lottery, it was revealed today.
Thomas Foden, aged 80, and daughter Irene Harper, 60, won £3,909,990 on Saturday night. It topped off a wonderful weekend for Irene, who celebrated her 39th wedding anniversary on the day of the win and her 60th birthday on Sunday.
The pair revealed their win at a press conference at The Mount Hotel in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, today.
They won a share of the UK's first Lotto quadruple rollover jackpot with the winning numbers of 1, 6, 7, 8, 25 and 42.
They bought their lucky ticket from Costcutter in High Street, Princes End. The shop only had lottery machines installed a few weeks ago.
Irene works as a full time carer for her husband Barry and has played the lottery every week since it began in 1994.
She and her father are avid West Bromwich Albion fans and Thomas is a regular at Wednesbury's Wetherspoons pub twice a week.
When asked if they will move from Tipton because of the windfall, Mr Foden said: "We've not really thought about that yet, it is very early days at the moment. I think we shall definitely move but there is a lot to think about." Mr Foden said he was amazed when his daughter telephoned him to say they had matched six numbers in the draw. He said: "I thought she was pulling my leg at first. When I do the lottery I normally keep the tickets for about three to four days before checking them."
He said he had not yet thought about what exactly they would spend the money on.
"The main thing for me is that I want my grandchildren to have a good life and this will do that," he added.
The pair said they were now planning a huge family celebration to mark the windfall. Irene said: "We've just had an amazing weekend of celebration, topped off with the lottery win. Our feet haven't touched the ground but I'm sure we'll arrange something soon."
