ONE of the region's newest lottery jackpot winners is settling into her millionaire's lifestyle, two months after her dream came true.
Anita Wynne was the first of Darlington's jackpot winners this summer, scooping £3.6m on June 30 after repeatedly dreaming her numbers had come up.
Her win came just a week before Barry Moss netted £7.5m making the town one of the luckiest places in Britain.
Since then life has been a dream for Anita, 46, and husband Ken, 53, as they can now afford the life they always wanted.
They have swapped their three-bedroom council house in Cockerton for a six-bedroom luxury home in Blackwell.
Ken's works van has been replaced with a £16,000 Mazda MX5 sports car and they are in the process of building a holiday home in Crete.
Anita plans to learn to drive so she can buy herself a red sports car, and they are both looking forward to seeing the world in style.
Most people think winning the lottery would be the answer to all their problems, but according to the Wynnes the reality is a big shock, which took them a month to come to terms with.
The first thing they did after celebrating with family and friends was head to Manchester to see Ken's grandchildren.
"We took the grandchildren on a shopping spree. We told them they could have anything they wanted," he explained.
"My six-year-old grandson looked at me and said 'We can have anything? Even a goldfish?' That's all he wanted in the world."
The couple then spent three weeks in Crete, the island where they have spent their holidays for the last 11 years.
On their return to Darlington they moved into their new house.
They decline to reveal how much the palatial pad cost, but it comes complete with acres of garden, priceless views across Teesdale, a Victorian summerhouse and wild deer in the orchard.
Anita said: "I fell in love with it as soon as we saw it. It's absolutely gorgeous."
The couple intend to keep their feet firmly on the ground, particularly for the sake of Anita's youngest child, Natalie, who is 14.
"We're keeping things as normal as possible for her. It hasn't gone to her head."
They maintain that most people treat them exactly the same as before.
And despite all the trappings of a millionaire lifestyle, the Wynnes continue to drink in their old local; The Archdeacon in Cockerton.
"We still go there because that's where our friends are," explained Anita.
Ken added: "No-one expects anything. We have bought someone a drink and the next thing they have bought us a round back, so it's no different."
Having given up work, Anita admits she misses her old colleagues at The Garden Nursing Home and Ken still pays for his line in the lottery syndicate at Tomlinson and Longstaff, in West Auckland, where he was an electrician.
"We are happy with what we've got," said Anita. "We have always wanted a nice house, new car and to go on holidays. To have enough money to have no worries, to know we are secure. So we're happy."
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