Why a Hartlepool lottery winner who gave away half her £115m fortune is hoping to lose more pounds

Frances Connolly, who received £114.9m in January 2019 after hitting the EuroMillions jackpot with husband Patrick, revealed last month that the former Hartlepool couple have handed nearly £60m of their winnings to 50 family and friends.

They have also founded their own charity, the PFC Trust, based in Hartlepool, which they still consider to be their home town.

Now they have launched a £5,000 fundraising campaign to purchase a caravan to give young carers in the area a deserved break.

UChangeLives25 will support the work of Hartlepool Carers, which is run by Christine Fewster, and Stockton-based Eastern Ravens.

It urges people to focus on the figure 25 – as many young carers complete at least 25 hours of unpaid help a week for their families – with former teacher Frances embarking on a sponsored slim to lose 25lbs by the end of March.

“I’ve cut out all the in-between-snacking while I’m also swimming every morning before breakfast,” she said.

“I was going on a diet anyway because I’ve put weight on during the lockdown and I have mobility issues so I know it’s something I have to do for health reasons.

“But Christine has been desperate to raise the funds for a respite caravan for carers so it’s the ideal opportunity and the rest of the fundraising has just snowballed from there.”

Town boxer Savannah Marshall is among those who have already pledged support by taking part in online training sessions for 25 successive days from her Cheshire base.

Frances, who lived in Hartlepool with her family for 25 years and who now lives with her husband near Stockton, added: “My inspiration is the young carers. I just think life is hard enough at the minute.

"We are happy and contented but it’s starting to wear thin that we can’t enjoy life much, so it must be so much worse for young people especially when you’re having to care for them rather than the other way around.

“There’s a lot of talk about heroes. Well I think young carers are heroes all the time.”

Christine said: “We have carers who would normally go to school but are now at home all day so they are spending every minute of the day at home, surrounded by the demand for caring.

“Unlike adult carers, young carers don’t get respite support so the opportunity to be able to take some of them away for a fun weekend or an educational visit would be potentially life-changing for them.”

Christine, who cares for sons James, 13, and Harry, nine, who both have complex needs, is planning a 25-kilometre adapted cycle challenge with husband Gavin and their children to raise funds.

With Frances already raising £11,000, any funds beyond the £50,000 target, which will be pay for the caravan and its first year’s running costs, will be directed towards the PFC Trust’s support for those suffering since the coronavirus outbreak.

For further details about the charity appeal, go to www.the-pfctrust.org/ or email [email protected]

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