'I won £13.5million on the lottery and use the cash to make dreams of others come true'

Former bus driver and funeral director Peter Congdon, 76, who scooped £13.5million, found his calling after coming to the rescue of a bride during the pandemic

A lottery winner is using his fortune to give people a real lift in his new role as a chauffeur.

Former bus driver and funeral director Peter Congdon, 76, who scooped £13.5million, found his calling after coming to the rescue of a bride during the pandemic. When her wedding was cancelled four times and she could not get a car in time, Peter stepped in with one of his own luxury motors.

He said: “It was such a memorable moment, when the bride walked out, she was expecting to climb into her dad’s car and instead, she saw my Bentley parked across the street. She wept so much that she had to go back in to get her make-up fixed.”

Now the big-hearted grandad-of-10 uses his own fleet of cars to help those who need them. Peter, from Truro, Cornwall, said: “I think I’ve taken more than 25 Cornish brides to say ‘I do’. I always turn up in my best suit to help make it the happiest day of her life, and the only payment I need is to see the joy on their faces.”

And it is not just brides-to-be who benefit. Like most big winners, Peter treated himself to a selection of luxury cars – including a BMW i8 and a Bentley Continental – when his numbers came up in May 2015. He said: “I was driving a Ford Kuga at the time of my win, funnily enough nobody asked me to chauffeur them anywhere. But soon after I bought the BMW, a lad came up to me and asked if I’d take him to his prom. Iagreed and from then on, it snowballed with other pupils asking me to take them so they could arrive in style. One teenage girl sat in the car and actually cried, because it was her dream car.”

He has also taken grieving relatives to funerals and takes patients from a local hospice on days out. One memorable moment was granting a wish to a terminally ill girl who wanted to be a princess for a day: “The local hospice rang me, and explained a young lady was terminally ill with cancer, could I help make her princess dream come true? When I turned up she was in a stunning white princess dress, with her hair and make-up done. The sight of her brought tears to my eyes.”

He added: “A few months ago, I heard of a woman who couldn’t afford to get to her brother’s funeral. I picked her up in my Bentley and drove her there for free. I couldn’t ease her grief but I could at least make sure she didn’t have to catch a bus.”

Peter’s generosity is not limited to four wheels. He said: “Since winning, I’ve bought a few homes which I rent out at a reduced rent to deserving local young people. Getting on the property ladder is so tough for young people in Cornwall, so I give those who help themselves a little help too. The first couple I helped in this way were able to save for their own home and get married, they now have two children and are well set up. I like to think that they, like me, were a National Lottery winner too.”

Peter also gave £1.2million to fund an anti-gravity hydro pool at the Merlin Centre in St Austell in memory of his late wife, Rosemary, who battled multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years.

He also bought a new Range Rover – and handed it straight over to the centre to auction in a raffle. This November will mark 30 years of the National Lottery. In that time, it has created more than 7,200 millionaires. Players generate a whopping £30m each week for National Lottery-funded projects, with over 690,000 grants having been made across the UK.