For most people, winning the lottery means living the rest of their lives in the lap of luxury. But for Sue Herdman - who won £1.2million - splashing the cash on designer clothes and sipping champagne all day wasn’t for her. Instead, the mother-of-one decided to become a pig farmer - and, although she is up at the crack of dawn and often knee-deep in mud, she has never been happier. Cradling a piglet Sue, 46, said: 'Winning the lottery was amazing but the first time I brought a piglet into the world, I felt I’d hit the Jackpot. Sue Herdman won £1.2million on the lottery but decided to become a pig farmer rather than lead a lavish life . 'Friends think I’m crazy. It’s a dirty seven-day job in all weathers. Some of the piglets need 24-hour attention and there are days when I only manage to get a few hours sleep. But the pigs bring me more satisfaction than any money ever could.' Before her numbers came up in January 2010, Sue was a hairdresser in the village of Eardisley, near Hereford. She said: 'Then although I struggled financially I was perfectly groomed - my clothes and make up were always carefully picked out. 'Now I always smell of pigs and ironically these days I buy most of my clothes from second-hand charity shops.' A typical day for Sue begins at 6.30am when she gets up with partner Andrew Hornshaw, 47, to tend the 7,000 pigs on his family farm near Borough Bridgek North Yorkshire. When Sue won the lottery in 2010, she was a hairdresser but decided to become a pig farmer with her partner . Sue, who has invested her winnings in property, added: 'I always imagined if I won the lottery I'd buy a new car and clothes. But the reality is I still love hunting for bargains - and I’ve discovered I love pigs' She said: 'Every three weeks around 1,000 new piglets are born. Some of them need bottle feeding hourly to survive. So it’s often midnight before I sink into bed. 'It’s definitely not the usual life of a millionaire lottery winner and if you’d told me before I won the lottery this was how I’d spend my days, I would have said, "no way".' Sue was a single mother desperately trying to save up enough money to get a mortgage when her numbers came up. 'It was teatime and I was just about to have dinner when I glanced at the TV and saw the winning numbers,' she recalls, 'they looked familiar - I always used the same ones - and I got my ticket out to check. 'To say I couldn’t believe my eyes is an understatement but I suddenly couldn’t eat a thing.' After verifying she had indeed won £1,182,714, she celebrated with a drink in the pub and some karaoke. Sue was a single mother desperately trying to save up enough money to get a mortgage when her numbers came up - now she's penned a book, too . 'All I could think of was that I no longer had to fret about whether I’d get a mortgage as I didn’t need one,' she said.. In fact, it wasn’t a total surprise to friends as just weeks before Sue had posted on Facebook that she was sure she was going to win the lottery. 'A few weeks earlier I was at a party when I had my tarot cards done for fun. After the last card was revealed she actually told me the world was my oyster. All my dreams were within reach and I should buy a lottery ticket. 'A few weeks later I met her again and she made the same prediction. She was so sure I would win soon that I believed her and made sure I bought a ticket every week.' Even so, at first she couldn't come to terms with her win. 'Most lottery winners take a holiday but for the first six months I just kept on going to work at my hairdressing salon as normal.' Nine months before her win she’d begun dating pig farmer Andrew, an old friend. But with 220 miles between them it was difficult to see one another regularly. She explained: 'Six months after my win - and wanting desperately to see Andrew - I suddenly thought what am I doing? I’ve been given this wonderful gift of a lottery win and I need to make the most of it. I put the salon up for sale that day.' She and son Jake, now 22, moved to Andrew’s farm but she had no desire to become involved with the pigs. 'While it was wonderful to live on his father’s pig farm, I found the smell of the pigs overwhelming,' she says, 'and I couldn’t imagine being in muck all day.' However, one day she had an overwhelming urge to see how a female pig was getting on giving birth. 'At first I couldn’t bring myself to touch her but Andrew's dad Ken said if I didn’t help, both the mother and the piglets would die. I eventually pulled the piglet out alive. The sense of relief and joy was overwhelming and I’ve never looked back.' Sue, who has invested her winnings in property, added: 'I always imagined if I won the lottery I’d buy a new car and clothes. But the reality is I still love hunting for bargains - and I’ve discovered I love pigs.' Luck? Or Divine Intervention? Life is a lottery by Sue Herdman is available from Amazon.
Sue Herdman, 46,  won £1.2million but splashing the cash wasn't for her .
Now always smells of pigs and ironically buys clothes from charity shops .
Has written a book - and fortune teller predicted she would win the lottery .
For most people, winning the lottery means living the rest of their lives in the lap of luxury. But for Sue Herdman - who won £1.2million - splashing the cash on designer clothes and sipping champagne all day wasn’t for her. Instead, the mother-of-one decided to become a pig farmer - and, although she is up at the crack of dawn and often knee-deep in mud, she has never been happier. Cradling a piglet Sue, 46, said: 'Winning the lottery was amazing but the first time I brought a piglet into the world, I felt I’d hit the Jackpot. Sue Herdman won £1.2million on the lottery but decided to become a pig farmer rather than lead a lavish life . 'Friends think I’m crazy. It’s a dirty seven-day job in all weathers. Some of the piglets need 24-hour attention and there are days when I only manage to get a few hours sleep. But the pigs bring me more satisfaction than any money ever could.' Before her numbers came up in January 2010, Sue was a hairdresser in the village of Eardisley, near Hereford. She said: 'Then although I struggled financially I was perfectly groomed - my clothes and make up were always carefully picked out. 'Now I always smell of pigs and ironically these days I buy most of my clothes from second-hand charity shops.' A typical day for Sue begins at 6.30am when she gets up with partner Andrew Hornshaw, 47, to tend the 7,000 pigs on his family farm near Borough Bridgek North Yorkshire. When Sue won the lottery in 2010, she was a hairdresser but decided to become a pig farmer with her partner . Sue, who has invested her winnings in property, added: 'I always imagined if I won the lottery I'd buy a new car and clothes. But the reality is I still love hunting for bargains - and I’ve discovered I love pigs' She said: 'Every three weeks around 1,000 new piglets are born. Some of them need bottle feeding hourly to survive. So it’s often midnight before I sink into bed. 'It’s definitely not the usual life of a millionaire lottery winner and if you’d told me before I won the lottery this was how I’d spend my days, I would have said, "no way".' Sue was a single mother desperately trying to save up enough money to get a mortgage when her numbers came up. 'It was teatime and I was just about to have dinner when I glanced at the TV and saw the winning numbers,' she recalls, 'they looked familiar - I always used the same ones - and I got my ticket out to check. 'To say I couldn’t believe my eyes is an understatement but I suddenly couldn’t eat a thing.' After verifying she had indeed won £1,182,714, she celebrated with a drink in the pub and some karaoke. Sue was a single mother desperately trying to save up enough money to get a mortgage when her numbers came up - now she's penned a book, too . 'All I could think of was that I no longer had to fret about whether I’d get a mortgage as I didn’t need one,' she said.. In fact, it wasn’t a total surprise to friends as just weeks before Sue had posted on Facebook that she was sure she was going to win the lottery. 'A few weeks earlier I was at a party when I had my tarot cards done for fun. After the last card was revealed she actually told me the world was my oyster. All my dreams were within reach and I should buy a lottery ticket. 'A few weeks later I met her again and she made the same prediction. She was so sure I would win soon that I believed her and made sure I bought a ticket every week.' Even so, at first she couldn't come to terms with her win. 'Most lottery winners take a holiday but for the first six months I just kept on going to work at my hairdressing salon as normal.' Nine months before her win she’d begun dating pig farmer Andrew, an old friend. But with 220 miles between them it was difficult to see one another regularly. She explained: 'Six months after my win - and wanting desperately to see Andrew - I suddenly thought what am I doing? I’ve been given this wonderful gift of a lottery win and I need to make the most of it. I put the salon up for sale that day.' She and son Jake, now 22, moved to Andrew’s farm but she had no desire to become involved with the pigs. 'While it was wonderful to live on his father’s pig farm, I found the smell of the pigs overwhelming,' she says, 'and I couldn’t imagine being in muck all day.' However, one day she had an overwhelming urge to see how a female pig was getting on giving birth. 'At first I couldn’t bring myself to touch her but Andrew's dad Ken said if I didn’t help, both the mother and the piglets would die. I eventually pulled the piglet out alive. The sense of relief and joy was overwhelming and I’ve never looked back.' Sue, who has invested her winnings in property, added: 'I always imagined if I won the lottery I’d buy a new car and clothes. But the reality is I still love hunting for bargains - and I’ve discovered I love pigs.' Luck? Or Divine Intervention? Life is a lottery by Sue Herdman is available from Amazon.
for Sue Herdman - who won £1.2million - splashing the cash on designer clothes and sipping champagne all day wasn’t for her. Instead, the picked out. 'Now I always smell of pigs and from second-hand charity shops.' A typical day she was sure she was going to win the lottery. 'A