Hap-pea couple scoop £1m on lottery after trip to store
AWELSH couple have a box of mushy peas to thank for their latest windfall. William and Sophie Richards have won £1m on a lucky dip after he made an impromptu trip to the shops to pick up some mushy peas.
Self-employed William, 32, was on his way back from Comic Con in Cardiff on Saturday, May 12, when his wife asked him to run the errand to complete their roast dinner. He stopped by Cardiff Bay Asda and treated himself to five lucky dip tickets.
William, from Birchgrove in Swansea, said: “I bought my lottery tickets because I found myself somewhere I wouldn’t normally have been and took that as a sign.
“I didn’t think about them again until I was working on a Sunday afternoon. I scanned the results on my app and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that I’d matched the Lotto Millionaire Raffle code and won £1m.”
At first William didn’t realise that he had won the money and thought instead that he had just won a lucky dip that could potentially win him £1m.
Camelot managed to confirm the win straight away over the phone, but Mr Richards waited seven hours until he was home face-to-face with his wife to let them know that they were now millionaires.
Delighted Sophie said: “I knew something was up as he was telling me with tears in his eyes, but I still couldn’t believe it.”
Sophie, 25, had spent the day looking after their three children and was stunned when her husband returned home to tell her the good news.
The couple, who met while working at Asda, have been married for four years and now run their own business called Toys and Masks.
They are hoping the windfall will provide them with security.
William said: “We aren’t in a rush to spend the money, we want to cherish it and take our time to build a future for our family. The business has been growing steadily. but this win really takes all the stress out of it.
“Not having to worry about our mortgage is such a weight off our minds and now we can relax a bit and enjoy running the business and spending time with our kids.”
However, there are two trips the family are planning to treat themselves with. The couple plan on taking their three young children to DisneyWorld in Florida next year and William want to spend some money going to see WrestleMania.
He said: “I would really like to go and watch WrestleMania. I’ve been a fan of wrestling since I was little and have always wanted to see it live. It’s in New York next year so it might be my chance.”