A lucky lottery winner believes her £1million prize was a gift from her beloved mum who died last year.
Lizbet Ramus, 55, bagged the £1,000,000 win on Christmas Eve as her ticket matched the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker code.
The mum-of-one from Shoreham by Sea believes her life changing prize was her late mother "spreading a little Christmas magic" at a time when she really needed it.
Lizbet's mum Lavender tragically died from an aneurysm and Christmas 2019 was the first Lizbet had spent without her.
"We lost mum [last] year and not a day goes by when I don’t miss her," she said.
"She was such a thoughtful person and an amazing mum so I can’t help thinking, this is her spreading a little Christmas magic at a time when I really needed it."
Lizbet had bought a few lottery tickets for the Christmas week draws as a festive treat to herself, putting them into her purse – one her mum always used.
But she didn’t think much about the tickets until Boxing Day morning.
She said: "While it was our first Christmas without mum, we did our best and had a lovely big family feast at my brothers, she would have been so happy for us all.
"The following morning, Boxing Day, I was sitting in the kitchen with my coffee, and I’ll admit I was feeling a bit down.
"Remembering my lottery tickets, I thought maybe I’d had some luck there, not for a second expecting £1,000,000 worth of luck.
“I used the National Lottery App on my phone and was chuffed when the first ticket won a Lucky Dip, feeling a little more upbeat I scanned the second and all these noughts appeared, I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Home alone, Lizbet quickly called her brother and asked him for a favour.
Lizbet said: “I’d left my van at dad’s the night before so when I called saying I needed a favour, my brother assumed I wanted him to give me a lift to pick up the van.
"I said, ‘that’s right but I also need you to check these numbers and tell me I’m a millionaire.’ He was on my doorstep five minutes later, and then we were both laughing and dancing around the kitchen in celebration that I really had just become a millionaire."
When the kitchen dancing finally stopped, Lizbet rang Camelot to confirm the win and then took a few quiet days to mull over her life changing win before telling those closest to her, including her son Reggie, 27, and 92-year-old dad.
Looking ahead to the future, Lizbet has a few very clear plans. She said: “There’s no two ways about this, this win will change my life forever.
"I’ll never have to worry about big bills, or whether I can afford to pay for something. The pressure it will take off me on a day to day basis is massive. And with it, I can buy my absolute dream home, a tiny little seafront cottage in Shoreham for me and the dog.”
There are also a few travel plans in the future for Lizbet who works as a warehouse manager for the family business.
She said: “I’m definitely going to carry on at work but I will take some time off to travel.
"I’ve got a close friend in Hong Kong and another in Portugal so I’ll be jetting off to one or the other - possibly both - in the not too distant future.
“Beyond my cottage and travel, the only definite is helping out those closest to me. Mum would definitely approve of that and given she’s made me a millionaire, it seems exactly the right plan.”
Lizbet bought her winning EuroMillions ticket at V & P Convenience on Brighton Road in Lancing.
Lizbet’s winning EuroMillions £1M UK Millionaire Maker code in the draw on Tuesday 24 December was HZWT01008.
The National Lottery changes the lives of winners like Lizbet as well as communities across the UK – players raise, on average, over £30million for National Lottery-funded projects every week across the arts, sports, heritage, health, education, environment, charity and voluntary sectors.
For more information on National Lottery funding click here.