Britain's luckiest couple: Lottery winners scoop £4.8million... and this time they bought a ticket

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 23:53 EST, 8 February 2011

Desperately short of cash and with a new baby to care for, Sue and Lee Mullen decided to forgo their weekly £1 lottery flutter and put the money towards nappies instead.

It proved a costly decision. For all six of their their usual numbers came up – which would have won them a £8.5million jackpot. They cursed their luck and carried on with life.

But now, six years on, fortune has finally – and spectacularly – smiled on the Mullens. Their numbers came up in Friday’s Euromillions draw. And this time they had bought a ticket, bringing them almost £5million in a share of the £25million prize.

The couple beat staggering odds of 196 trillion to one for matching six numbers twice and have scooped £4.8million.

The Mullens, from Grimsby, started replaying the game at the beginning of the year after Mrs Mullen had a dream at Christmas that lightning would strike twice.

Now they are celebrating after their numbers came up just six weeks later.

Today, at a press conference, Mr Mullen said: 'Unbelievable. It really is a dream come true. To think you never ever have to look at the label to see how much it is or to worry about what you're putting in your trolley.

'We just can't comprehend that we never, ever have to worry.'

The 38-year-old said he and his wife were living in a rented property at the time their numbers first came up and could not even afford to buy furniture.

'Religiously, every week, we used to do the lottery and when my daughter was born we didn't have enough money, and it was either nappies for my daughter or the lottery.

'Obviously the priority was my daughter so we bought nappies and unfortunately all six numbers that we did every week came in. To say that we were totally gutted was an understatement.

'We were a bit disillusioned with it and we thought that was our chance gone, finished.'

The couple matched all five numbers and two lucky stars on their lucky dip ticket to scoop the £4,873,639.80 jackpot in the EuroMillions draw on Friday February 4.

Mrs Mullen, who is registered disabled after back surgery for a prolapsed disc caused nerve damage, said the money would make a huge difference since the family had been living off just £300 a week for a long time.

The couple said they were still trying to get used to being millionaires, even to the extent that instead of putting in their usual £5 or £10 of petrol they decided to 'go crazy' and put in £20.

Mr Mullen said he would also be keeping his T-registered Ford Mondeo car because it would remind him of his roots.

He said: 'I'm going to keep it because every time I look at that car it's going to remind me I'm not above anyone else.'

The only thing the couple have splashed out on is a new luxury caravan worth £23,000.

Mrs Mullen, who likes car boot sales, said: 'People have won vast amounts of money on the lottery and other things and within a few years it's gone. That's not going to happen to us.'

She also said she and her children had never been abroad and did not hold passports, so a big family holiday to Disneyland was on the cards.

They will also use the money to try to get private medical care for their health problems, she said.

The couple also joked that Grimsby should again be known as 'Winsby' - the town was named as such after a spate of lottery winners in the late 1990s.

Mrs Mullen said: 'Up to a few years ago when you came into Grimsby from the M180 it used to say "Welcome to Winsby" and it had a National Lottery sign. Obviously that sign's going to have to go back up now.'

Mr Mullen added: 'It's got to be one of the luckiest places.'