4:16pm Tuesday 24th April 2012
A week ago single mother Julie Styles was facing mounting money worries - now she is celebrating winning £1.6 million on the lottery.
The 46-year-old, from Stanford-Le-Hope, hit the jackpot on April 14 but suffered a week of sleepless nights before realising her good luck.
At a press conference, she said: "I was in absolute shock. Like many people, money is really tight and I had just increased my hours at work to try to make ends meet."
At first a shop assistant told her she had won £5,000 but then the true extent of her good fortune emerged.
"When I thought I'd won £5,000, I was so shocked and delighted I simply took the ticket and walked out without paying for my shopping," the mother-of-two, who works in Debenhams, said.
"My sister works at the Co-Op and the assistant manager rang her to say I hadn't paid for my shopping.
"She immediately thought it was because my card had been declined but the manager explained that I'd left in shock.
"In the end it was my sister who worked out how much I'd won - she called me to tell me I'd actually won £1.6 million. I was gobsmacked."
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