17 March 2024 , 14:05
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A selfless care worker still went into work for her night shift hours after finding out she had won £3.6 million.
Joanne Jobson, 51, claimed the winning ticket on the National Lottery Set For Life draw, meaning she will receive £10,000 a month for the next 30 years. Joanne from Hartlepool, Co Durham had been living in her mum's house while saving to buy her own home when she bagged the "life changing" Lotto win. Now the carer for children with disabilities is hunting for her dream home and plans on booking a world cruise to celebrate.
Joanne was overjoyed her life-changing win which was announced at Hardwick Hall Hotel near Sedgefield (Anthony Devlin) But just hours after learning of her huge windfall, Joanne still got ready and went into work for the night.
She said: “The lady on the phone confirmed that I was in fact a winner, but by this time it was pretty late on the Friday so I was told I would receive a call from a member of the Winner Services team on Monday.
"I needed to get to work and didn’t want to let my colleagues down so as if on autopilot, I got ready for my shift."
“Once I got to work I couldn’t help but tell the team what had happened. As you can imagine, it ended up being quite a lively shift after that as everyone was so happy and excited for me.
Joanne has promised to treat her two sisters (Anthony Devlin)"Even then, I was still reluctant to let myself believe that it was actually real. I came home on Saturday and was unable to sleep ahead of another night shift that evening.
"So by Sunday I was exhausted and I finally said to my mum that perhaps it was time to hand in my notice.”
After speaking to the Winners Advisor Joanne told her older sisters the good news and has promised to treat them both as well.
Joanne added: "When I told them they both just cried - it was very emotional for us all. I think that was the moment when it finally sank in for me too that I really had won. I feel so lucky that this has happened - it's just phenomenal.
She will now swap holidays in Spain for bucket list trips to the Maldives and Barbados (Anthony Devlin)“At 51 this win literally changes everything for me, I now have peace of mind knowing I’m financially secure until I’m 81!
"I’m going from working nights and saving hard to being able to buy things when I want and plan holidays I could only have dreamt of before."
She plans on swapping holidays in Spain for bucket list trips to the Maldives and Barbados and has booked a special trip to London later this year for her close-knit family.
After working as a carer for 17 years Joanne only started playing Set For Life five months ago.
When a notification popped up on her account telling her she had won, Joanne - and her mum - couldn't believe it.
She has already began hunting for her dream home (Anthony Devlin)“I logged onto my account and couldn't believe what I was reading.
"I jumped out of bed and went to tell my mum. I remember just saying to mum ‘I think I might have won a lot of money!’ and showing her my phone.
"Mum was convinced it was a scam, so I googled the winning Set For Life numbers for the same date to see if they matched - which of course they did. After checking and checking again, I called The National Lottery claim line."
Since her win last month she has already set about house hunting for her dream home.
Her winning numbers were: 16, 17, 19, 23, 38 and Life Ball 5.
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