Chipping Norton couple's £1m lottery win day after redundancy

David and Shelley Adams had suffered a "catalogue of difficulties" over recent months before their lottery win

A couple won £1m on the National Lottery just a day after one of them was made redundant.

David and Shelley Adams, from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, said the win was a change in fortunes after a "catalogue of difficulties", including a relative dying with coronavirus.

Mrs Adams, 52, will leave the country for the first time by flying first class to visit relatives in Canada.

Her husband, 61, had lost his wood machinist job before Saturday's win.

He said: "Many people would think the redundancy was the worst news but in fact it's just the final straw in a catalogue of difficulties we have experienced.

"Just last year Shelley was diagnosed with MS and had to give up the job she loved as a community carer, putting a strain on our finances and heightening her clinical anxiety."

In April Mr Adams' sister-in-law died from a heart attack and the following month his brother died with coronavirus.

'Beyond comprehension'

"It's been a really tough time but we stick together and try to keep smiling, whatever life has thrown at us," Mr Adams said.

"Never in our wildest dreams did we think the next thing thrown our way would be £1m."

He plans to put a Nissan Qashqai to the top of his shopping list to replace his Ford Mondeo after winning a total "beyond anything we could ever comprehend".

Mrs Adams added: "We have friends and family in Canada who we thought we would only ever see online, certainly never in person.

"I've never even been on a plane or left the country before. It's crazy to think the first time I do it will be first class all the way!"