Southend lotto winners credit their good luck to stray black cat

Tony and Deb Pearce with their "lucky" pet cat Billy

A couple who won the lottery have credited a "lucky" stray black cat for their life-changing win.

Tony Pearce, 71, and his wife Deb Pearce, 63, from Southend, started to feed a stray cat they named Billy when they were in financial difficulty.

Six months later, they won £1m on the National Lottery in 2017 and put the change in their fortunes down to Billy.

"People say black cats are unlucky, I'd say nothing could be further from the truth" Mrs Pearce said.

They made sure the former stray has shared in their wealth ever since.

Billy, who is thought to be about eight years old, holidays with the couple at their second home in Norfolk.

"When Billy appeared we were close to selling our beloved home and becoming strays ourselves.

"Tony had stopped working due to ill health and we were in serious debt.

"It looked like our only option was to go into rented accommodation then, six months after Billy arrived, lady luck struck and our lives changed for good.

Billy is now a pampered pussycat, with his own "huge carrier" to travel to his owner's holiday home in Norfolk

"We were able to stay in our home and renovate it into our own perfect slice of heaven.

"We've enjoyed holidays away and, closer to home, bought a place in Norfolk, somewhere we have always loved spending time and somewhere the whole family can enjoy.

"To top it off, we finally said 'I do' at our dream wedding."

Billy is firmly part of the family and the couple have spared no expense in looking after him, paying for twice-daily insulin injections after he was diagnosed with diabetes, and placing him on a tailored hypoallergenic diet.

"Aside from having us on call for his twice-daily injections, we also jump through hoops for his catering whims," said Mrs Pearce.

"If he has more than three days on the same flavour he turns up his nose and while he enjoys the chicken and vegetable meal, Billy doesn't like the peas.

"I find myself rooting through his food, picking out the peas and wondering who is the National Lottery millionaire around here?"

The cat came into his owners' lives when they faced losing their home in 2017

Mr Pearce said: "When I find myself paying the bill for vet care or Billy's specialist diet - that comes in at more than our annual trip to The Savoy - I can't help thinking that it might be Billy who is also lucky."

"It's not a bad life for a Southend stray who clearly turned up on the right doorstep, at the right time, and proved to us that black cats are in fact lucky" he added.