NORTH EAST NEWS: Builder wins £1m on Lotto and plans to put 'family first' with winnings

NewsNORTH EAST NEWS: Builder wins £1m on Lotto and plans to put 'family first' with winningsTerry Gillings, 61, and his wife Caroline, 54, have decided it's family first with life-changing

plans for their £1M Lotto WingazetteliveBookmarkShareNewsByKali LindsayDurham Reporter14:46, 3 JUN 2025Bookmark£1Million Lottery Winners Trevor and Caroline Gillings (Image: Alan Peebles

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A builder and his wife are putting family first with their life-altering plans after scooping a £1M Lotto windfall.

Terry Gillings, 61, and wife Caroline, 54, were delighted to have scooped the life-changing cash which they are going to use to secure their four daughters' futures.

The family's win, however, also came with heartbreak after the death of Terry's father within a 48-hour period.

Terry said: "We've always worked hard and helped our kids where we can but this is a whole other level – surely it's every parent's dream. We decided pretty much straightaway

that we wanted the girls to benefit from our luck. I'll never forget phoning our daughters to tell them that their mortgages were being paid off, it generated quite a bit of screaming

and joy."

Despite the bittersweet circumstances, Terry, who looked after his 85-year-old dad through prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease, was able to share the joyful news before his

father's passing. Recalling the moment, he said: "I told dad we'd won a million and, true to character, his first words 'P*** Off, don't lie to us'", reports

Chronicle Live.

"I like to think knowing Caroline and I, and the girls, were all well set-up for the future meant he slipped away more peacefully. My dad always said celebrate the wins, that's exactly

what we intend to do and I've enjoyed telling everyone I've bumped into since that we've won!"

Despite the win at the weekend, come Monday Terry, from Stanley, County Durham, was back to manual labour, constructing an extension.

Terry recounts: "I've been a builder since I left school, I can't really imagine stopping now. I built our dream home seven years ago so I may take a break from building for

clients for a bit and instead get to work with a mate building a couple of houses on a plot we invested in years ago but didn't have the cash at the time to get on with the build. Just

like that, we have."

They are also planning a charitable act by making a contribution to Breast Cancer Awareness, which has deeply affected their family. Terry shares: "We lost my mum to breast cancer, my sister

has had treatment, our daughter has recently undergone a double mastectomy and I have been advised that I carry the gene. We've had our share of bad luck and hopefully by donating some

of our win we can help other families to be luckier when it comes to this horrible disease."

Terry has religiously played Lotto each week since its inception. His winning Lotto numbers on Wednesday 26th March, 2025 were: 14, 17, 18, 22, 34 and 58.

Trevor and Caroline Gillings (Image: Alan Peebles Photography)

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