Woman who won £1m on EuroMillions to buy new home with terminally ill husband

A carer who won £1 million on the lottery plans to buy a bungalow to make her terminally ill husband’s life easier.

Marlyn Anderson, 70, and husband Ian, 77, have been living in the front room of their house due to the round-the-clock treatment he needs for a lung disease he developed after working on construction sites.

The couple, who have two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild, have been married 32 years but they had to give up foreign holidays due to Mr Anderson’s diagnosis of pleural plaques and pulmonary fibrosis, which he believes is linked to asbestos exposure.

Mrs Anderson described their current home in Stirling as “like a bedsit”, and she now hopes to find a spacious bungalow nearby after winning EuroMillions.

Ian and Marlyn Anderson toast their £1 million EuroMillions win (National Lottery/PA)

The couple have already bought an automatic car, a Citroen DS 7 Rivoli, with the winnings after Mrs Anderson bought a lucky dip ticket online.

She initially believed the amount she had won was £1,000 and was “delighted” with that – but began to fear it was a scam when she saw the number of zeroes.

Mrs Anderson said: “This win couldn’t have come at a better time. It will ensure Ian can have the very best quality of life in the time he has left.

“As a result of Ian’s condition, he is unable to get upstairs. He struggles to breathe so we currently have our living room set up like a bedsit. We have no other option.

“Buying a bungalow will allow Ian to have his own bedroom and for us to have a sitting room too, all on one level. This will be so special as it is something we haven’t been able to do for such a long time. He will be able to live the rest of his life in comfort.”

The couple now plan to buy a new home that is more suitable for their needs (National Lottery/PA)

On March 12, Mrs Anderson discovered she had £4.90 left in her online Lottery account and decided to buy a EuroMillions ticket.

She recalled: “I just thought there is no point £4.90 just sitting in my account, I will buy a lucky dip ticket for the next draw.

“It was the day after the draw that I logged on to my emails just to see if there was any news about my ticket, and there was.

“I initially thought we had won £1,000 and I was absolutely delighted.

“I then started to count the zeroes, and couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing, so I counted them again. I just kept thinking it couldn’t be true and it must be a scam.

“I was desperately watching the clock tick to 8am when I could call the National Lottery number to confirm if what I was seeing really was true.

“I couldn’t believe it when the person on the other end of the phone told me it was.

“I actually don’t think the news has fully sunk in yet. Neither Ian nor I can believe it.

“It still all seems very surreal. There is no other word to describe what we are going through right now.”