A Dundee woman was “squealing” with joy after winning a new car in a raffle which raised thousands of pounds for a sick Angus youngster.
Lottery millionaire Gillian Bayford donated a new Audi A1 as a raffle prize in a bid to find a cure for Blake McMillan, who suffers from MECP2 duplication syndrome. The five-year-old requires 24-hour care as he cannot walk, talk or eat.
Gillian – who became the winner of Britain’s second biggest Lotto win when she and her ex-husband scooped £148 million in 2012 – previously bought a specially-adapted house for the family.
The draw was done by Carnoustie and District Councillor David Cheape on Saturday. The winning ticket was 337, which was bought by Dundee woman Stephanie McGregor.
There were 540 donations made and more than £15,000 was raised.
Blake’s mother Jenny, said: “I am glad that it is a local person who won it as we have had so much local support.
“It’s another 15 grand closer to getting a cure for Blake so that is a fantastic amount to raise. I am absolutely grateful to Gillian as she has been supporting us for a while.
“I want so much for Blake and I don’t intend to give up striving for the best for my boy.”
Stephanie McGregor, 34, only bought one ticket and has been following Blake’s Facebook page so was keen to donate.
She said: “On Saturday morning I was lying in bed with my husband and our three-week-old daughter, Charlotte Emily, when I seen a message pop up on my phone from Jenny.
“My first thought was that she messaging me to get in touch with someone else, never really believing I would have won and then I read her message. I let my husband read it and we were squealing but then had to stop as Charlotte was sleeping and it had been another long night of little sleep, so we didn’t want to wake her.
“I think we’re both still letting it sink in, I’ve only ever really won the odd voucher or bottle of wine in raffles before. This is just amazing. Charlotte has definitely brought us some good luck and a great end to an already wonderful year.”
Gillian said: “I have always been into supporting children charities so when I moved from down south I found out about Blake’s story and the more I got to know Blake and Jenny, the more I got to know more about the condition.
“There isn’t a lot of backing for it and there is still a lot more to be done.”
