Peter was warned his millionaire lifestyle was killing him, so he quit - now he uses his money to help others instead
A bus driver who won £10.2million on the National Lottery then went to work the next day for his £50 shift says he still has his bus licence in case he needs it - and says he was told to stop partying aged 40. Peter Lavery thought his friends were pranking him when a mate who knew his numbers called to say he had won in May 1996.
Peter, now 61, said: “I always talked about what I’d do if I won the lottery, but I never dreamed it would actually happen. We’d have those conversations all the time, thinking about what you’d do if you won the lottery. The night I won £10,248,233 there were 33.3 million people playing and I had it. Just unbelievable. It shows how quickly your life can change.”
Peter bought his family home for his siblings, though sadly his mother and father had died, and bought himself a big house for £300,000. Peter still lives there with his 52-year-old wife Vikki, a former nurse, and their three dogs, though it has been extended three times. Their house boasts a gym and steam room, a garden full of ornaments, a bar and en-suite bathrooms with jacuzzis. He also owns a collection of more than 300 Swarovski crystal pieces, including various animals and figurines. “I had to stop buying them as I haven’t got anywhere to put them,” he said.
Peter said: “I didn’t drink every day but once I got a drink in me I just didn’t want to go home so I would be out in Belfast until four or five in the morning. It’s nothing to be proud of.“I didn’t have liver or heart problems but my sugar levels were going in the wrong direction and my doctor, who’s a good friend of mine, told me to change my lifestyle or I’d be injecting insulin forever.
Peter said: “It’s a hard pill to swallow that they aren’t here. We had a very happy family life. Money was tight but we never wanted for anything. A lot of people within our community lost family during the Troubles. We were very fortunate that we didn’t, but people who were close to us lost brothers and fathers.”
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