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A great-grandmother with a lucky touch is celebrating her second lottery win after banking half-a-million.
Sheila Garrett, from Gravesend, was never in any doubt she'd win the National Lottery's Thunderball - on top of $20,000 she bagged in the 90s when she lived in the USA.
After securing the top prize the 80-year-old declared she always knew she would win, but did admit it was all a bit surreal.
She said: "I can't get my head around it at the moment.
"It is still quite new and hasn't really sunk in. It has become more real after holding the big cheque."
Sheila, who has 15 great-grandchildren, used to buy her Thunderball ticket on a visit to the shops but this year has turned to playing online via the National Lottery website since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Checking the winning numbers for the September 25 draw, they all looked a little bit familiar to Sheila.
"I looked and thought they looked like my numbers and that I had better sign in to my National Lottery account," said Sheila.
"As soon as I saw the message that I had won, I knew it was the £500,000 top prize. I always knew I would win Thunderball."
Sheila's previous big win was back in the early 1990s when she lived in Florida winning $20,000 on a similar style lottery game called Fantasy Five.
She explained: "Fantasy Five only allowed you to choose numbers up to 26, meaning my birth date - the 28th - had to become 2 and 8.
"The winning numbers in this Thunderball draw of course included 2 and 8.
"Also there were the birth dates of my three children 5, 14 and 24. The all-important Thunderball was number 10 which is supposed to be my lucky number - it certainly seems to be very lucky now.
"I've got my eye on the next win - I see the stories in the papers of the big winners my daughter-in-law looks after and it always takes me back to my win in Florida - and now it's happened again.
"It's been a bit more each time so it will have to be EuroMillions next."
Sheila's daughter in law, Kathy Garrett, who is a winner's advisor for the lottery, said: "I'm delighted for Sheila, I have the most amazing job where I get to see lives changed by a National Lottery win and I know what a difference this will make to her."
She now hopes to move into a bigger apartment in her complex and renovate it with her winnings.
