£7m lottery winners still work in pub
Couple can’t leave ‘good friends and punters’
IT’S 11am and, at the Crown Inn, licensees Dean and Stella Hardman are opening for business, just as they have for the past 11 years.
And that’s despite the couple scooping a £6.75million Lottery win in 2006.
Stella, 48, recalls: “I was sat just where you are. It was just a regular night with the locals, Dean was on the other side of the table and we were all checking our tickets as the draw was done on television.”
Dean, 43, nearly did not buy a ticket because it was raining. But he made the 300 yard dash to the shop – probably the best move he ever made. It was a EuroMillions rollover and the £125million jackpot had to go that night. The couple shared the pot with 19 others. Stella said: “We didn’t really know what was happening, one of the girls even ran down to the petrol station to see if they knew how much we’d won.” But why are they still here over a decade on? Many pubs around Heywood, Greater Manchester, are shutting down. “We love it,” said Stella. We have good friends, good customers. Our family are all around here. Why would we go?” And Dean is still making the last-minute dash to the shop to buy a ticket. He jokes: “I bought eight lucky dips a couple of weeks ago, won £3.10 on one and £17 on another. Another little winning streak.”