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STACK OF CASH

Lotto winner, 64, gets up at midnight to stack shelves at Marks & Spencer 25 years after winning £2.7m jackpot

LOTTERY winner Elaine Thompson has been getting up at midnight to stack shelves at Marks & Spencer — 25 years after her £2.7million windfall.

Elaine, 64, kept working at first to set a good example to her children and switched to 2am shifts during lockdown.

Lottery winner Elaine Thompson stacks shelves at Marks & Spencer
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Lottery winner Elaine Thompson stacks shelves at Marks & SpencerCredit: NCJ MEDIA
Elaine and husband Derek wanted to set a good example for their children
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Elaine and husband Derek wanted to set a good example for their childrenCredit: NCJ MEDIA

She said: “The company let me go at 8.30am because I’m asthmatic and vulnerable, so I wasn’t with any of the customers.”

She went on: “A couple of times it was really really hard. I was driving to work thinking, ‘What am I doing?’

“But I kept working all the way through. I’m coming up to 65 next week but I’m not ready to retire.”

Elaine and ­accountant husband Derek, 62, won in December 1995 when their two kids, Gary and Karen, were five and ten.

Elaine and ­accountant husband Derek, 62, won in December 1995 when their two kids, Gary and Karen, were five and ten
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Elaine and ­accountant husband Derek, 62, won in December 1995 when their two kids, Gary and Karen, were five and tenCredit: PA:Press Association
Elaine and Derek have bought racehorses and enjoyed trips to Las Vegas
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Elaine and Derek have bought racehorses and enjoyed trips to Las VegasCredit: PA:Press Association

Elaine, of Killingworth, Tyne and Wear, said: “It’s important that children see you working hard.”

They have bought racehorses and enjoyed trips to Las Vegas.

But she reckons her supermarket shifts four days a week help keep her grounded. She said: “I absolutely love my job and just because I won the lottery, this didn’t make me want to give up work. It’s all about balance.”

Elaine, 64, and Derek, 62, won in December 1995
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Elaine, 64, and Derek, 62, won in December 1995Credit: NCJ MEDIA
Elaine said: 'I absolutely love my job'
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Elaine said: 'I absolutely love my job'Credit: NCJ MEDIA
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