A COUPLE who won £4.5m on the National Lottery have spoken of how their lives have been transformed.

In summer last year, Gary Henry and his wife, Ann, ran a burger van business in Bishop Auckland.

But since their lucky numbers came up that September, they have travelled the world and spent £550,000 on a new home on Wolsingham’s exclusive Holywood housing estate.

One of Mr Henry’s proudest achievements, however, was to donate £23,000 for a five-a-side football ground in his hometown of South Church, near Bishop Auckland, which he dedicated to his late mother, Gladys May Henry.

“I said I’d pay for it when I won the lottery, and I always said when, and not if, I won,” said the 48-year-old former Lib Dem Wear Valley district councillor.

The “burger king and queen” have enjoyed Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, been on cruises to Malta and the Caribbean and in March they are off on an 18-day, £15,000 cruise of Australia and New Zealand.

Mrs Henry has traded in her Corsa for a £23,000 red Mercedes C220 and her husband has treated himself to a £40,000 black Mercedes ML, though he refuses to part with his old white Escort van.

They also swapped their static caravan for a £16,000 tourer and plan to buy a £45,000 motor home to tour Europe.

They have spent about £1m on six properties, including their new home and have given away £700,000 to family and friends.

The couple have six children from previous marriages and Mr Henry has ten brothers and sisters.

His children are Jonathan, 27, who now runs the burger van, Lindsay, 25, and Rebecca, 19; and Mrs Henry’s children Steven, 33, David, 29 and Gary, 25.

Mr Henry is also a grandfather to Will, 13, Davina May, six, Faith Lilly, two, and 18- month-old Ryan.

Mr Henry says he has always felt rich, despite growing up with little.

“We all had the same back then – absolutely nothing,” he said.

“If you’ve got a roof over your head, food in your cupboards, you can open your eyes in the morning and put your feet on the bedroom floor, you’re a millionaire already.”

Mrs Henry says her husband will continue to play a key role in the community.

She said: “When Gary was a district councillor, this man had been trying to get a dog-poo bin for a long time and the council had turned him down.

“So the Monday after he won, Gary rang one of the councillors and said, ‘Put that order in for the dog bin and I’ll pay for it myself ’. It was £38 and the very first thing he bought.

“Last year, he said he was going to do a fence for an old lady in the area and she saw him in town and said, ‘You didn’t do my fence’. So he went and did it for her. That’s Gary for you.”

The couple will remember winning the Lottery for another reason.

It was also the day Mrs Henry’s brother lost his five-year battle with cancer.

“It was a terrible day,” she said. “We were feeling so bad, but on the way to the pub Gary stopped to buy our lottery tickets. It was 6.30pm and he was just in time.”

Hours later, the couple were millionaires and this Christmas have been enjoying their new home.

“We’ve come the full circle,” said Mr Henry.

“We bought our winning lottery ticket in Wolsingham and now we live there. So we have had a Lottery win with a happy Holywood ending.”