A great-gran who won £500,000 on the Lottery three years ago has finally moved into the penthouse flat she set her heart on.
Sheila Garrett, 83, planned at first to use her windfall to get a bungalow.
But she changed her mind when she found out the top floor apartment at the retirement complex where she lived was up for sale.
Sheila said: “I decided I was far more a penthouse than a bungalow kind of gal.”
She got builders in to turn the rather dated flat into a bright and open plan home complete with top of the range technology and just the right amount of sparkles. Spending more than £60,000 on the revamp, she picked all the fixtures and fittings.
Sheila said: “I don’t know if it’s the years I lived in the States when I was a tour guide for the casinos that influenced me, but I have always loved the finer things in life.
“I love seeing the look on visitors’ faces when they first come round. My home is certainly not your average great-granny’s, with pictures of all the kids on the walls and ornaments cluttering up the space.
“I have pictures of all the family on a rolling loop on my amazing TV, which doubles up as a computer screen. And as for knick-knacks, no thank you.”
Recalling the moment she was officially told she had scooped £500,000 on the Thunderball, Sheila said: “I was dancing around the living room with joy as the win was confirmed. In many ways, I haven’t stopped dancing.”
Sheila, from Kent, recently flew first class to Florida in the US to catch up with friends and family.
And she reckons the £500,000 windfall will not be her last jackpot.
Sheila said: “I truly believe I have one more big National Lottery win to come, and this time it’s going to be a whopper, so I joke that this apartment is my test run renovation.
“With my next win I will buy a crash pad penthouse in Tampa, Florida, and forget the first class travel – I’ll get myself a private jet.”
