When most of us think about winning the lottery, we dream about never having to work another day of our lives.

Yet, almost 25 years after her £2.7m lottery win, Elaine Thompson refuses to give up her beloved job stacking supermarket shelves.

Despite being vulnerable due to her asthma, she continued to carry on her job as a key worker throughout the coronavirus lockdown, starting her shifts at 2am.

The 64-year-old Marks & Spencer worker, said: "I did the 2am starts everyday so I'm in from 2am to 9am.

"The company was fantastic. They let me go at 8.30am because I'm asthmatic and I'm vulnerable so I was not with any of the customers.

"I was leaving the house at 1.15am every morning, I get up at midnight.

"A couple of times during lockdown it was really really hard.

"I was driving to work thinking 'What am I doing?'

"But I kept working all the way through.

"I could not have done furlough. I'm coming up to 65 next week but I'm not ready to retire yet."

Elaine and Derek Thompson who won £2.7M on the lottery in 1995
Elaine and Derek Thompson who won £2.7M on the lottery in 1995

When Elaine and husband Derek discovered they had become millionaires in December 1995, their two children, Gary and Karen were only five and 10 years old.

It was then that Elaine decided she would carry on working regardless of her bank balance, so she could be a role model to her children.

Elaine, who lives in Killingworth, said: "I had two young children at the time when I made the decision.

"It's important that children see you working hard, and that we don't get anything out of life unless you work hard for it."

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She hoped to inspire her children to be the first in the family to go to university, which they later achieved.

The couple will celebrate 25 years since their lottery win this year, on the same date they celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Although she and semi-retired accountant husband Derek, 62, don't currently have any plans, they often like to visit Las Vegas on holiday.

Aside from dozens of trips to Vegas, the couple also helped out Gary, 30, and Karen, 35, to buy their first houses and get on the property ladder. One of the first things they splashed out on after winning was a new Ford Fiesta and later they bought three racehorses.

But the early supermarket shifts four days a week help to keep Elaine grounded.

"People ask me why I have not got a cleaner. If she came to clean, I would have cleaned the house before she got here.

"For me, I was brought up to be a hard worker, I love to work.

"I have got the best job in the world," she said.

Elaine added: "I absolutely love my job and just because I won the lottery, this didn’t make me want to give up work. I think it is all about balance.

"I have continued to work but work hours which are more suited to me and with the remainder of the time I have been able to help out at and support charities which are close to me."

Elaine and Derek Thompson who won 2.7M on the lottery in 1995
Elaine and Derek Thompson who won 2.7M on the lottery in 1995

A nationwide survey of 2,000 British workers revealed how some people would pursue their dream career if they won the lottery, like Elaine and Derek.

The importance of careers for people in Newcastle wouldn’t change even after a potential lottery win, with 38% of those polled in the city saying if they were to win big, they would take the opportunity to learn a new trade.

Almost a quarter (24%) say they would focus on charity work and 20% say they would study for their pilot’s licence.

Camelot’s senior winners’ advisor, Andy Carter said, “2020 seems to have left many of us wanting more from our jobs, thinking about what our next career move might be or jacking it all in to do something that we really love.

“Our passion for gardening and cooking in lockdown and months of home-schooling has clearly inspired the nation to consider a career overhaul and realise the importance of job satisfaction.

“And the importance of our careers doesn’t appear to change even after a lottery win, with only a few looking to quit their jobs if they win. Over half of National Lottery winners still work in some capacity and just under a quarter of them have started their own business after their win, turning their hand to floristry, hairdressing – we even have one that has invented their own spicy sauce!”

Players can check their tickets online at www.national-lottery.co.uk, via the National Lottery app or in their local store.