Lotto winner Julie: I'm not giving up work (From Thurrock Gazette)

Lotto winner Julie: I'm not giving up work

3:00pm Wednesday 25th April 2012 in News

A SINGLE mum popped open the champagne yesterday as she celebrated winning £1.6million on the lottery.

Julie Styles, 46, admitted she was “still in shock” at receiving the mega-payout but said she wouldn’t be moving from the three-bed semi she owns in Stanford-le-Hope or give up work at Debenhams in Lakeside.

Confronting the media at Orsett Hall yesterday, Julie said: “I’m still in shock about the win, it doesn’t seem real.

“I am a bit frightened, but that’s only natural I suppose. It’s a bit daunting, I just feel numb.

“I can’t sleep or eat.”

Julie bought her winning ticket on Friday, April 13 and luckily, her numbers came up in the Lotto draw the following day.

Julie, who has worked as a sales adviser in women’s wear at the Lakeside store for nearly five years, said the money, which is due to arrive in her account today, would be “life-changing”.

She added: “I have always struggled with money, I am a single parent, and I’d just increased my hours at work because I needed the money to pay the bills.

“I was on child tax credits and I would have lost that this year as my daughter left school, and my earnings wouldn’t have been enough to cover everything.”

Despite her windfall, Julie plans to return to work next week.

She said: “I enjoy my job and I like the people there, so I’ll go back next week.

“They’ve been understanding.

“I won’t be working Saturdays though, and I’ll probably reduce my hours.”

Julie said for the moment, she was happy to stay in her three-bed house where she lives with her 17-year-old son Conor, and 16-year-old daughter Kelsie.

Kelsie, however, has other ideas.

Julie said: “Kelsie wants to move because she wants her own en-suite. I’m not sure.”

Top of Julie’s to-do list for the moment is to trade in her Ford Focus.

She said: “My dream car is an Audi TT, so I’m going to get myself one of those. It’s great timing because my car needed two new tyres and the tax ran out last week.”

Julie, who has been divorced since 2009, is also keen to pay off her mortgage as well as her dad’s and her sister Paula’s.

She also wants to take her family on holiday to Canada to see relatives they haven’t met up with for years.

Despite the world now being her oyster, Julie says she has no intention of cancelling a holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis this November.