With the news that retired Billingham couple, Denis Graham, and his wife Mary, scooped £4.5m on the Lotto, we look back at other people from the region who have won life-changing amounts of money
Doreen Hay and son, John - £7.5m
Doreen Hay and her son John who won £7.5m in a rollover draw in January this year.
Mrs Hay, a retired cleaner from Thornaby aged 70, decided to give £1.5m away of her share to charity and family members and gave £500,000 to her former husband, even though the couple, who remain firm friends, split in 1987.
She also donated to the Butterwick Hospice in Stockton and treated her three grandchildren among many others.
John Hay, of Billingham, also gave money away to friends and family but had not been able to afford a family holiday for six years before winning the lottery and wanted to buy a home with his partner.
Paul and Sue Watson - £1.2m
Paul and Sue Watson were still getting up at 3am run a greengrocers in Cockerton, Darlington years after winning nearly £1.2m in 2007.
The couple made the news again in 2012 when they agreed to help advise other lottery winners and are involved in supporting the hospice movement.
Gary and Ann Henry - £4.5m
Burger bar owners Gary and Ann Henry won £4.5m in 2008 after a gypsy predicted they would win.
Mrs Henry, a mother of three, gave an old lady who was soaking wet a cup of tea and a sandwich just two weeks before their big win and the old woman said she was a true gypsy and that the couple could expect a big win just two weeks before their big scoop.
Malcom & Claire Sills and Martin & Claire Tait - £1m
Two married couples from the Stockton area won £1m in February last year after one of them re-invested some smaller winnings on the EuroMillions Millionaire Draw last year.
The pals were enjoying a trip away in CenterParcs with their children when they won £40 on a scratchcard and Martin Tait bought the lottery ticket which was shared with his wife, Claire, and best friends Claire and Malcolm Sills.
The friends and their two children planned to go on holiday to Australia.
Lynne and John Pittiglio - £180,000
Lynne and John Pittiglio of Washington, Tyne and Wear, scooped more than £180,000 when their horoscope predicted a big win in September last year.
The couple were babysitting their grandchildren when they realised they had won and were about to remortgage their home to carry out repairs when they realised they had won.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here