Wigan midwife continues labor of love after lottery win

A midwife who won the lottery a decade ago said she continued to work to set an example for her daughter.

Ruth Breen, 45, found out she had won £1 million on the EuroMillions while checking her email on her lunch break at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan in 2014.

She is marking the 10th anniversary of her win by supporting the city’s The Baby Room initiative for those in need of essential items.

Ms Breen said: “We all know there is a cost of living crisis that has been going on for some time and children are not cheap.”

Alison Wakefield, who set up the community interest company in 2022 after giving birth to her youngest child, said: “Without our support we would have children sleeping on the floor, they wouldn’t have a safe space to sleep – we would make them sleep in drawers, we would have children who use diapers more than once.

“It is an essential service that is definitely needed. Without us, people would be without, and babies would be without.”

Since winning the lottery, Ms Breen has gone part-time and enjoyed “great holidays” in Dubai and Mauritius.

She said: “The win came at the most perfect time ever. It allowed me to reduce my working time, giving me a much better work-life balance.”

She said she would be able to “spend a lot more time with my daughter doing fun things for mom, instead of just working a very, very busy job.”

“We’ve had great holidays but we’ve been trying to keep our feet on the ground and I think work really helps me do that.”

Ms Breen still lives in the house she bought before she won and remembers her first purchase after winning the lottery was a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.

“I almost cried when I was paying for them in Selfridges because I couldn’t believe I could buy this and I had the money to do it.”