Two police officers plan to buy their dream home and enjoy the ‘Good Life’ – chickens and goats included – after scooping £1m on the National Lottery. Cambridgeshire couple Graeme White (35) and his wife, Katherine (36), say their 20-year plan has now become a 12-month plan as they set their sights on a dream home in the countryside for their young family thanks to their lucky £1,000,000 EuroMillions win on Tuesday 7 May.
Graeme said: “This win changes everything for us, it gives us breathing space both physically and financially.
“We always wanted to live somewhere rural with plenty of outdoor space for the children – and so we could keep some chickens and goats – but thought that would be something we’d have to wait for years down the line when we were able to downsize.
“However, now thanks to our amazing lucky break we don’t have to wait, our dream home can become a reality, and we can start house hunting right away. It’s crazy to think, but our 20-year plan has now become our 12-month plan!”
The couple, who have a daughter (5) and son (3), were in disbelief when they found out they had become overnight millionaires the morning after the EuroMillions draw.
Graeme explained: “I play EuroMillions through The National Lottery app and occasionally get a message saying I’ve won something. It’s usually a couple of quid, so when I saw the message I thought, ‘great, that will pay for a lunchtime meal deal at work tomorrow’.
“But when I opened the message it said I had £1,000,000 plus £3.30. It had to be a mistake, in my head I thought you could only win a couple of quid or the big jackpot – I didn’t know about the millionaire maker prize.
“I’m a bit of a joker at times so when I turned to Katherine, and told her we’d won the EuroMillions, she didn’t take me seriously until she saw my phone.
“With us both being police officers we see lots of scams so we were a touch suspicious, things like this don’t happen to people like us, it just couldn’t be real.
“We started googling EuroMillions prizes and soon saw that there was in fact a EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker prize and that my code did match the one for the draw the night before.”
As busy parents the couple went about their morning routine as normal while they waited for The National Lottery telephone lines to open.
Graeme said: “It was too early to call the claim line so as if on autopilot we went about our morning as usual getting the children ready for school and nursery. It was only after we dropped them off that we called The National Lottery. We had to confirm some details and they said they would call back.
“We both work shifts but luckily that day we were off, so we decided to walk into town while we waited for the call. It was very surreal.
“I wanted it to be true but couldn’t let myself believe it. We both laughed at our first little upgrade – as we treated ourselves to a Nero’s instead of the usual Greggs coffee. As we strolled around B&M absentmindedly the phone rang.
“I took the call and the guy on the phone confirmed the win and actually said ‘Congratulations, you’re a millionaire!’.”
He added: ““I looked at Katherine and she whooped and then welled up. I don’t know what the other shoppers must have made of us!”
The couple who both work for the police have wasted no time and have already informed their bosses that they will continue working but will reduce their hours.
Graeme explained: “We’re only young and both enjoy what we do, so see no need to stop. But we have cut down our hours, which means we’ll have more of a work-life balance. I also think it’s important for the children to see us working to instil a good work ethic.”
Along with a new home, goats and chickens, the family’s wish list also includes a trip to Disneyland for the children as well as a new four-legged addition to their growing brood.
Katherine said: “We are big Disney fans, so a trip to Disneyland is definitely on the cards for us.
“However closer to home, along with the chickens and goats, we’ve always wanted a family dog – but just didn’t have the space or the time with us both working – it wouldn’t have been fair to the dog. But now that’s changed we’re all excited to get a labrador puppy, especially the children.
“We’ve already started to think of names, and obviously have some National Lottery inspired options on the list including ‘Lottie’ and ‘Millie’!”
The couple celebrated their win at Sacrewell Farm, which has benefited from £1.5M in National Lottery Funding.
Graeme bought his EuroMillions ticket for the draw on 7 May 2024 online, using the National Lottery app.
He won the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker £1,000,000 prize when he matched the winning code VTCF14977.
