UK grandma wins $7 million in lottery after spotting two money spiders

Doris Stanbridge, 70, from Dorking in southeast England, plays Lotto every Saturday but bought her winning ticket on a random Thursday after a chance encounter with what she took to be a lucky omen.

She had seen two money spiders, which are said to bring financial good luck, while at home and decided to take a chance on a Lucky Dip Set For Life ticket.

“I was out in the kitchen when I felt something tickle my arm. I looked down and it was a money spider crawling off of my hand,” Mrs Stanbridge explained, per National Lottery.

“I flicked it off, went into the conservatory and there was another one.

“I said to my (daughters): ‘I’ve seen two money spiders now, I should do the lottery’. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Mrs Stanbridge said she “didn’t think about the ticket” after buying it because her 70th birthday party had consumed all her attention.

“I was going through my emails, deleting bits and pieces when I saw one from The National Lottery saying: ‘Congratulations, you’re a winner’,” she explained.

“I looked at it and said to Keith: ‘Have I read that right? Does that say what I think it says? No, it can’t be.’

“I rushed round to my son-in-law, who lives next door. I knocked on the door and practically shoved my phone in his face and asked him if it said what I thought it had said. He logged on to his National Lottery app and said ‘Yes those are the numbers, there was one winner and it’s you!’”

The huge sum — £10,000 (A$19,600, by the current exchange rate) every month for the next 30 years, totalling £3.6 million (A$7 million) — means Mrs Stanbridge can retire with her 66-year-old husband Keith.

“I wasn’t planning on retiring for a few more years but I am going to stop working in the next few months,” she said.

“Getting that first payment was bizarre. It felt very strange to see that amount of money in my account,” Mrs Stanbridge added.

“It arrived just before we went on our annual family trip to Cornwall so I gave my daughters a chunk each to celebrate and have a bit of fun with. We were able to go out for meals and do things we’d normally think twice about doing.

“The win means we won’t have to worry about our finances and we can help out my girls… Keith wants to see Shania Twain, so that’s on the bucket list.”

Mrs Stanbridge added she and Keith had no plans to move out of their home of 50 years.

“My daughter lives next door, which is lovely. We live in the middle of town, walking distance to everywhere. It isn’t a huge home and it suits us perfectly,” she explained.

“We have always liked living here. We have just had the kitchen and conservatory done but now the rest of the house is looking tired so we need to tidy it up. I also want to have a new bathroom upstairs.”

Mrs Stanbridge said it felt odd to be “set for life” at the age of 70.

“It still seems a bit strange when I think about the win and that I will get that money every month for thirty years,” she said.

“It gives me a reason to be around until I am 100.”