Former Harrogate Town defender Terry Kennedy quits job to travel the world after £1m lottery win

Terry Kennedy, 29, played for the Sulphurites during the 2017/18 season, scoring seven goals in 27 appearances from centre-half to help Simon Weaver’s team to promotion out of National League North.

A former team-mate of Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire at Sheffield United, Kennedy was forced into early retirement due to a knee injury shortly after leaving Harrogate to join Guiseley.

But after scooping the life-changing win last year, he quit his job as a builder and has spent 12 months ticking off items from his bucket list with his partner Kay Yoxall, 26.

The video of him finding out that his lottery ticket was indeed a winning one went viral online, and despite it being a year on from that life-changing moment, Kennedy has said that the couple “have to pinch ourselves to remind us that this is real.”

Kennedy, who joined Town from then-sixth-tier rivals Alfreton, explained: "This win is something which has absolutely changed our lives forever, including the ability it’s given us to travel the world.

"It is always something you hope will happen to you but it is just a dream – you think it’s something that only happens to other people – not ordinary people like us!

"And it may be a whole year on since we won but still, every single day, we have to pinch ourselves to remind us that this is real and it really did happen to us."

Kennedy, from Barnsley, purchased the winning Lotto Lucky Dip ticket in November last year - but left it on the counter and had to go back and pick it up.

Luckily he did go back, because when he later checked the ticket he realised he had matched five numbers plus the bonus ball - making him a millionaire.

He was working as a ground worker on a building site at the time and one of his colleagues videoed the moment Kennedy found out he had won the money.

Recalling the life changing phone call, the ex-Sulphurite said: "Despite all the checks it isn’t until you hear on the phone that it is a £1million win that you really believe it.

"Making the call in front of my mates and colleagues was brilliant and I immediately took them to the pub for a celebratory pint.

"Thinking about that call – and listening back to it today – still gives us both goosebumps – and if I am honest, brings tears to our eyes too. It is a moment which will stay with me for the rest of my life."

Before the couple had even collected their winnings, they immediately jetted off to Tenerife before heading to Dublin for a long weekend.

The lucky pair quit their jobs and haven't stopped travelling since, and have visited destinations including Tokyo, New Zealand, Hawaii, Turkey and Italy.

Highlights of their year travelling also include swimming with dolphins in Mexico and going on a helicopter ride in New York. But their favourite trip so far has been a Caribbean cruise, which Kay described as "just beautiful.”

She said: "On average, we’ve managed to go somewhere different each month and we have lots more to pack in, so we can’t wait to create some more amazing memories together.

"Swimming with dolphins in Mexico was on our bucket list of things to do too and we've now ticked that amazing memory off. That was magical, as was every trip we've taken since winning changed our lives forever."

The couple are also using their winnings to renovate their four bedroom detached house in Rotherham, into their “dream home.”

The property sits on a third of an acre of land and has its own orchard, and they will be building a “man cave” in the garden along with a home for their pet tortoise Travis.

Kay added: "We are loving just having the time ourselves to build a dream home – just as we want it to be.

"The winning isn’t just about the money – it is about buying you that all important time which when you are working you just do not have.

"We are really cherishing every moment of being able to do the work ourselves – with the support of professionals, where essential of course – to get our home to be just as we want it to be."