A Brecon couple who won £1 million on The National Lottery seven years ago have done it again – defying odds of more than 24 trillion to one.

Richard Davies, 49, a courier driver, and his wife Faye Stevenson-Davies, 43, a mental health practitioner, discovered they had matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on November 26, securing a second £1m win.

The pair first became millionaires in June 2018, but say they never stopped believing lightning could strike twice.

“We always believed winning was possible,” said Faye. “And once we scooped £1m and met hundreds of other lucky winners, we realised fairytales do come true and there are winners everywhere! We knew the odds of it happening again were outrageous, but we’re proof that if you believe, anything is possible.”

Their latest win came through a run of consecutive Lotto draws after matching two numbers and receiving a free Lucky Dip ticket, which carried them forward week by week until the winning draw.

Richard explained: “This win was not as simple as buying the winning ticket, it came to us through a series of four consecutive Lotto draws!

“When you match two numbers in the Lotto draw, you automatically win a Lucky Dip for the next game and that’s what’s happened to us. We matched two numbers and won a free Lucky Dip from the draw on the 15th, which put us into the next draw and so on, until the winning draw on Wednesday, November 26.”

Despite their extraordinary luck, the couple say their lives will continue much as before – particularly over Christmas. Richard will continue to work seven days a week so that everyone gets their Christmas deliveries, while Faye is offering mental health support to her clients across the Festive period, including Christmas Day.

Faye said: “That first win meant I gave up work as a mental health nurse and could return to university, gaining a second degree in Counselling and Therapeutic Practice. I now have my own practice and also provide counselling services with local organisations including Brecon & District Mind charity and The DPJ Foundation. I feel blessed every day to be doing something so meaningful thanks to that first bit of luck, and I’m not going to abandon my clients with the second bit.”

Richard, formerly a Talgarth hairdresser, added: “After a while I was able to give up hairdressing, I’d been doing it since I left school. I put down the scissors before agreeing to help a friend out with a couple of days courier work, that was two years ago and I now do seven days and love it

“Everyone keeps asking what we’ll do in the future and we genuinely have no idea at present. We may have believed, doesn’t mean we had a plan! The first time around we gifted people cars, we donated a minibus to the local rugby team, and did our best to help friends and family, it was all new and it was amazing to be able to make a difference. This time, who knows, we’ll take our time and enjoy the moment.”

While another win was always a real possibility for the positive pair, Faye and Richard had other motivations too, Faye said: “We always played believing in a win but we've also seen firsthand, through our volunteering at projects that have received vital National Lottery funding, the impact players make. From Richard using his hairdressing skills at a shelter for the homeless in Cardiff with Haircuts4Homeless to cooking up a storm at Cegin Hedyn community kitchen in Carmarthen, funding makes a huge difference, right across Wales.”

Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “I can still remember the day I met Richard and Faye for the first time, and it’s just as special to be with them as they celebrate their second £1m National Lottery win. To see the positive impact of that first win, I know that this second one will be just as meaningful.

“Players winning more than once is unusual but like all the best magic, not impossible. We have supported winners who celebrated double wins with us, and there are even a few lucky addresses dotted around the UK that I have visited more than twice!

“With more than 7700 millionaires that already been made in the UK, there are big winners in every corner of the country and maybe there is one down your street.”

With Christmas Eve promising a £15m Must Be Won Lotto Draw, it’s guaranteed that a lucky Lotto ticketholder will follow in Faye and Richards footsteps, making this a very memorable Christmas indeed, Andy said.