I won lotto while on maternity leave – my daughter was born a millionaire but we kept it secret so she’d stay grounded
A COUPLE who won millions on the National Lottery jackpot kept their win secret from their daughter for years so she would remain grounded.
Sarah and Aldan Ibbetson, who live in Ilkley, Yorkshire, scooped a life-changing £3,013,767 on the lotto on July 20, 2002.
The dental nurse was on maternity leave, having just given birth to a daughter, when they found out they had got a huge win.
Sarah, now a mum-of-three, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We were at home watching the live draw on TV and we first thought we had five numbers, before we text in later and realised we had all six.
“It was surreal, that’s the only way to describe it. We were in disbelief until we got it confirmed.”
The couple, who are now both 41, had just recently bought a new house in Cookridge.
Sarah said they had managed to do up the living room but were in need of more money to get a new kitchen.
At first they thought they had got five numbers which would have won them £2,500, enough for a new kitchen at the time but when it dawned on them they had won considerably more, they could buy a new property.
They then moved to Ilkley and in 2014 they built their own five-bedroom detached house, complete with a contemporary kitchen-diner with a Aga cooker and stone furnishings.
Now they have added two more kids to the family and put some of their money into a new number plate manufacturing business, Number One Plates, based in Guiesley.
They only told their children when they were old enough to comprehend what the win really meant and to keep them grounded.
Sarah said: “We told the children [about the win] when they were old enough to understand and I think Oscar is still getting a grip on things.
“But we’ve kept them very grounded, if they don’t tidy their rooms they don’t get pocket money.
“They are grounded children which is nice, because it could have gone the other way with them realising what had happened.”
The mum also offered advice for any new lottery winners, saying they should not rush into making purchases but to carefully consider where to invest the money.
She added any winner should take as much financial advice as they can.
Their first purchase were a Mercedes-Benz and a Porsche, which they used a debit card to buy.
Later on, they bought a Mini for driving around the centre of Leeds in and have also invested some of their money in property renovation.