Her patience has finally been rewarded.
A grandmother finally scooped the jackpot after playing the lottery for almost thirty years along with her three children.
Audrey Cobb, 87, used the same numbers every draw since the syndicate started at Christmas in 1994. Her patience has now been rewarded with a win of a million pounds.
She said the first thing she’ll do with the money is share some with her grandchildren.
Audrey’s son David Cobb, 67, had the idea to play soon after the National Lottery was first set up, and persuaded his mum to join along with his siblings Carol Nobbs, 55 and Sandra Digby, 60.
David said he always believed the group, from Peterborough, would win, but was so floored when it actually happened that he had to go on a ten-mile bike ride.
‘We’ve had some small wins along the way but I was definitely the favourite big brother when I told my sisters I was giving them each £250,00,’ he said.
They matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the draw on Saturday June 22 and will now split the cash four ways.
‘It was an incredible moment, especially for my sister Carol who, after a tough few years, thought she would never have her own home again,’ David said.
His wife Linda realised the life changing news after she checked the National Lottery app the morning after the draw and saw a message alerting them to the win.
‘Linda always plays our own line and also kindly ensures our family syndicate line is played at the same time,’ David said.
‘She saw a message which said we’d won £1 million and calmly said to me, “David, I think you’d better have a look at this”.
‘To be honest I was a bit grumpy and couldn’t be bothered to find my glasses but when your wife of 45 years uses ‘that’ voice and says, “no, you really need to read this”, you know you’d better find your glasses!’
After reading the message, they were overjoyed and lost for words but as phone lines did not open until later in the day, they set off on the 10-mile bike ride to fill the time before claiming the win.
After the win was confirmed David visited his mother.
‘I told mum I had some good news and wanted to tell her and my sisters at the same time,’ he said.
‘She immediately said “have we won the Lottery?” so my plan was slightly scuppered.
‘We called Carol and Sandra on a group call – Sandra was at the allotment and was so shocked by the news a fellow gardener had to pop over to make sure she didn’t faint, while Carol just burst into tears knowing that her housing woes were a thing of the past.’
While Carol has already searched for, and found, her new home so she can stop renting, Sandra plans to treat herself to a new car, an upgrade on the VW Polo she currently drives.
Mr Cobb said: ‘To be able to share it with my family is the icing on the cake, and to see that it will help the wider family is the cherry on top.’
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