MONEY doesn’t make you happy – it just makes life a whole lot easier.
That’s if you believe two couples who each scooped over a million pounds on the lottery.
The Crosslands, from Mirfield, and the Wrights, from Cleckheaton, were among some of West Yorkshire’s winners who gathered at The Royal Armouries in Leeds to celebrate 15 years of The National Lottery.
Lucky couple Susan and Michael Crossland have their feet firmly on the ground after their £1.2m win in July last year.
Mother-of-four Susan said: “We were really happy before we won the lottery and we’ve tried to stay grounded.
“Although we like nice things we want to stay just as we were.
“The main thing is we don’t have to worry about the mortgage anymore.
“The money just takes away some of the worries of everyday life.”
Susan, 45, told the Examiner she believes their big win was a sign her late father Barrie is still looking after the family.
She explained: “Two years ago my dad died of cancer and I took on his lottery numbers.
“On the anniversary of his death I’d find lots of white feathers and knew it was a sign from him.
“And then last July – the day after my birthday and around the second anniversary of his death – we won.”
The couple didn’t go crazy spending their new-found wealth.
And they’ve tried not to spoil their four children Rebecca, 26, Samantha, 25, Jamie, 18 and Josh, 14.
Housewife Susan said: “We haven’t just given them money willy-nilly.
“We want them to learn about the value of money and the value of hard work.”
Michael, 40, has only recently given up his job working on a farm vegetable stall.
He said: “I love my job – I’ve always loved all my jobs.
“It’s not just the job but all the people there and those that run it.
“They haven’t treated me any differently, they’ve just treated me as normal.
“From 16-years-old I’ve worked every day – don’t get me wrong I feel very lucky – but I often get bored now.
“But I still wake up really happy and bouncy and thinking how lucky we are.”
Susan has anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergy, so is unable to work.
The couple are full-time carers of Susan’s sister Joanne who has a mental handicap and they say the money really helps.
Cleckheaton couple Janette and Stephen Wright said they haven’t changed much since scooping £1.6m in June 2007, although 51-year-old Stephen has retired from his painting and decorating business..
Janette, 43, said: “We’ve stayed living in Cleckheaton where all our family are.
“We’re not snobs – we don’t consider ourselves any different to anybody else.
“Just now we don’t have as many worries.
“And we’re able to go on nice holidays and buy what we want.”
Yorkshire and Humberside has seen 229 millionaires since the lottery began 15 years ago. 2,300 millionaires have been created nationally since November 1994.
£2.1 million is the average size of the Lotto jackpot prize paid out across Wednesday’s and Saturday’s draws.
Four million winners scoop a prize on The National Lottery every week.
38 is the most frequently drawn main ball, having been drawn 251 times since launch – 25 and 31 are the second and third most frequently drawn main balls.
13 is officially the unluckiest ball number, having been drawn the least number of times since 1994
1566 was the year the first British National Lottery was set up by Queen Elizabeth I
80g is the weight of each solid latex rubber lottery ball
