Lotto winners refuse to leave council house

A Suffolk couple are refusing to move out of their two-bedroom council house - a year after winning nearly £4m on the lottery.

Stan and Pat Cable have been accused of hogging their £65-a-week property instead of freeing it up for a needy poor person.

But they insist that they have no intention of moving away from their home of 27 years, reports the Daily Mail.

The row began when the Cables gave an interview to a local newspaper in which they revealed how they could not tear themselves away from the council home in Eye.

One reader, Reginald Fidler, 85, of Stutton, complained: "They should have bought a place of their own ages ago and released the house for someone on the waiting list."

And he was backed by a resident in Eye who said: "They're a lovely couple but they can afford to buy their house dozens of times over - or move into a mansion if they wanted."

But Mr Cable, 64, a groundworker who retired 11 years ago with a bad back, hit back, saying he and his wife "laughed our heads off" when they read Mr Fidler's letter.

"We didn't take any notice of this chap," he said. "We are happy as we are and we like our neighbours."

Mr and Mrs Cable were living on £500 a month when they won £3,980,528 last year. At the time they said their only plans were to buy a new caravan.

Mid-Suffolk council's corporate director Nick Gowrley said: "Mr and Mrs Cable have been secure tenants for a number of years and, although their financial situation has changed, their rights remain the same as any other council tenant."