A GRANDAD has told how he lives in the luckiest town in the world – where he scooped £370,000 in a postcode lottery.
Although 10 residents of Pen y Dre in Rhymney, south Wales won big in the sweepstake, lucky Ted Owen managed to trouser twice as much as his neighbours.
Ted Owens, 76, scooped £370,000 in the postcode lottery
WNSHe and his neighbours collectively won nearly £4million[/caption]
WNSHe bought two tickets for the lottery[/caption]
He doubled his money when he splashed out on two tickets – while other locals bought one ticket, earning them £185,000 each.
The street cleaned up in last March’s monthly draw, earning more than £2m.
Wins in other Rhymney postcodes have seen the town net almost £4m in total.
Retired steelworker Mr Owen, 76, decided to buy two £10 tickets, rather than just one, as normal, on “a whim”,
He told The Sun: “I reckon I’m the luckiest man in the luckiest town in the world. I usually buy one ticket but for some reason, I bought two that month and it sure paid off.”
He used some of his winnings to take his family of three children, their partners and his granddaughter on a nine-day £15,000 cruise around the Caribbean and South America.
He also wanted to splash out on a brand new £56,000 Jaguar car but the dealers refused to let him have the only one in stock as it was on display in the showroom.
He said: “They said I’d have to wait until another one was delivered to replace it, so I hung on and hung on, and then they told me it wouldn’t arrive for 12 months.
“So I bought a £20,000 Hyundai instead with 2,000 miles on the clock.”
The black hybrid motor has his personalised number plate too, including his name and his postcode number – TED 22.
Mr Owen also bought a new electronic Alexis device “because it’s louder”, he said.
But what he would really liked to have spent the win on is his late wife, Coral, who died of cancer eight years ago.
He said: “I’d have spoilt her rotten.
“I don’t suppose the money would have saved her life but we’d have had some fun with it and, well, who knows?”
He has no plans to move from the semi-detached home the couple bought in the early 1980s and splash out on a new, luxury home.
He said: “Why would I want to leave this house? All my wonderful memories are here.”
Mr Owen said his win won’t change him. “I’ve never been an impulsive person and I won’t start now. I’m going to use what’s left of the money to help my family out financially whenever I can.
“Oh, and maybe I’ll buy a new sofa. I might get a new telly too, but it’s still working, so what’s the point?”
Across the road, fellow winner Mary Brooks, 63, scooped £185,000 and used £10,000 of it to pay off her mortgage.
She said: “I can sleep easy at night knowing I’ve got no mortgage and cash in the bank.
She also quit her job as a cashier at a local garage and took early retirement.
Mary explained: “I was working nights for 20 years, so I was ready to give it up,” she said.
Her husband, Geraint, 60, lost his job at a recycling plant two months after his wife’s win.
He said: “I’ve decided I’m taking early retirement too now. It is wonderful not to have any financial pressures.
“We’ve hardly touched the winnings. We’ve got three children and five grandchildren and we want them to benefit.”
The pair, neither of whom have a driving licence as they have never learned to drive, say they have no intention of buying a car.
He added: “When you turn 60 in Wales they give you a free bus pass, so we’ll just keep on using that.”
The couple – and their neighbour Mr Owen – agree Rhymney is the luckiest town to live in the UK.
Mrs Brooks said: “To be honest, it’s such a beautiful place to live with such an amazing community, it already felt like the luckiest place to live, even before the lottery win.
“But yes, we feel even luckier now.”
Further along the road, their friend John “Lionhead” Price was not so lucky, though. He died of sepsis just three months after scooping his £185,000 win.