I won £10k a month for 30 years on National Lottery when I was 21 - here's how it changed my life

A Staffordshire man who struck gold when he was just 21 has opened up about the impact of netting the jackpot. James Evans scooped an eye-watering £10k monthly sum for a whopping three decades after selecting winning numbers on a Set For Life ticket from The National Lottery.

He matched the combination of 2, 4, 22, 37, 45, and the pivotal Life Ball 10 back in December 2020. The now 25 year old swapped his block paving duties to relish the slopes as a ski instructor, not to mention paying off his car loan, indulging in a snazzy new computer, and buying his first pad featuring a hot tub.

James hasn't just focused on his own financial comfort though; he's ensured those dear to him are well looked after and has given generously to charities he holds dear. He recounted his low-key reaction saying: "Apparently, I was the most chilled winner who had ever rung the National Lottery line but in truth I was in shock it hadn't sunk in."

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When revealing his stroke of luck to pals over a zoom call, the guessing game ensued until he disclosed the extraordinary news. Post-victory saw a spike in mates opting for National Lottery tickets, influenced by James's windfall, reports the Mirror.

What truly moved him was the opportunity to make a real difference for folk close to him. He shared instances of generosity: "What has really changed me as a person is being able to do things for others. My family is massively important to me, so I've paid for my mum and dad to come skiing in Austria with me, helped my sister buy a new car and helped my brother start his own business. I also still help my dad out with the family landscaping business when he needs me, I will always put him first and will continue to do so until he retires."

James shared: "I became involved in the charity Canine Partners last year, firstly to help renovate a bungalow and make it accessible for wheelchair users with dogs. Later, knowing my professional background as a landscaper, they told me they wanted to turn an overgrown area into a memorial garden for dogs who had passed somewhere their owners could go back to and remember their dogs."

"When they showed me a film with the dogs helping their owners, I was so moved that I cried twice. That evening, I couldn't forget what I'd seen so I asked if I could do the memorial garden myself."

"I returned with a digger two weeks later, and it took a day to clear the ground. Then, I drew up plans, put the structure in and made concrete paths. I met a couple of wheelchair users and their dogs who said what a difference it had made to them, having somewhere they could come to reflect."

"The work took just under two weeks. It became one of the most satisfying things I've ever done. By helping others, I feel like I'm passing on some of my luck."

Despite his expertise as a landscaper, skiing was always closest to his heart and he now dreams of teaching abroad. James added: "I love skiing and passed my level one exam to become a ski instructor last year, and I am now teaching at my local SnowDome."

"My dream would be to take the full training course and teach abroad. It isn't about the salary, it's all about the experience for me and it really would be living the dream."

Securing a life-changing windfall on the lottery brought forward a ski enthusiast's dream career as a ski instructor and it's a career swap that gets a thumbs up every time they see students master the slopes.

As a passionate skier, who tries to head for the mountains several times each year, the chance to teach others was always on the horizon. However, bagging the Set For Life top prize presented the perfect chance to take the leap and make a lifelong passion a full-time profession.

James said: "Being a ski instructor was always my plan later in life but when I won Set For Life I thought, 'why not right now?' We used to go skiing a lot as a family and I try to go a few times a year. I am definitely more of a mountain than a beach person I love the slopes."

"I teach all ages, from as young as four right up to 70. What I love most about being a ski instructor is being able to help someone achieve something seeing their face when they have done it is so rewarding."

James added: "Winning Set For Life feels like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. Getting that money in my account every month will never get old, and I still have 310 more payments to come! I really wasn't playing the lottery much before winning just every now and then. And all it took was one Lucky Dip line to change it all."

In fact, he is living proof of how many of the National Lottery's newest millionaires swap daily drudgery for the freedom and adventure the windfall brings.

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