A WOMAN who was living on Universal Credit has now become a millionaire thanks to two twists of fate.
Anita Campbell, from County Durham, saw her life change forever after bagging an eye-watering Bingo win twice in ten days.
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Anita was a frequent visitor at Mecca Sunderland until her mother passed away in 2018.
After the heartbreaking death, she decided to re-open her account online and deposit £100.
But just withing hours of opening her Mecca account, the mum-of-four was able to scoop a jaw-dropping £597,000.
Speaking at the time of the win in 2019, Anita said: “It’s still a bit of a dream.
“I’m over the moon. I still can’t believe it. I thought straightaway, I can help my kids with this money.”
But luck hit Anita twice when the 51-year-old decided to play again a week later.
The shocked punter managed to bag another £552,000 just days from her first win.
Anita added: “When I won the first time I was in utter shock and when I continued to play online I didn’t expect to win anything at all, let alone another large sum of money.
“It took nearly a week to get over the shock of winning the first time and then I won again. Even now I’m scared to look at my bank balance.”
Cash-strapped Anita struggled to make ends meet while on Universal Credit for more than a year before the windfall.
She said: “It’s been more than a year and it has been very hard.
“I lost weight, I’ve not been able to eat properly, which has had an effect on my diabetes.”
The cash meant she was able to move out of her rented property and pay off her mother’s funeral costs.
She immediately shared some of her winnings with her family and friends.
Anita treated her four children to shopping trips and bought toys for her five-year-old grandson.
She also used a chunk of the cash to buy her 73-year-old father a new home and helped her daughter to undergo IVF treatment.
However, despite her big wins, she admits she still likes playing online Bingo.
She said: “It’s been overwhelming and a roller coaster of emotions winning twice but even though I have this money, it won’t change who I am.
“I’ll still visit the charity shop to buy my books and see what other things I can find there.
“There’s no way I’d pay for something that cost £100 when I know I can get it for £40.
“Christmas will also be the same as it has always been in our household – with the family making happy memories – there’ll be no lavish gifts despite the winnings.”
It comes as a lucky customer who won a whopping £45million prize bought the random winning ticket after forgetting his usual lucky numbers.
Les Scadding, 73, from south Wales celebrated becoming the UK’s biggest lottery winner taking half of the Euromillions jackpot over a decade ago.
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