Cornwall millionaire uses lottery winnings for good deeds

However, the sight of him whisking a bride to her dream ceremony in his £250,000 Bentley Continental would become a familiar one in Truro.

When he scooped £13.5 million on Lotto, former bus driver and retired funeral director, Peter Congdon did what so many lucky winners have done since the first National Lottery draw 30 years ago, he treated himself to a selection of luxury cars, including a BMW i8 and a Bentley Continental.

Peter Congdon has transported more than 25 Cornish brides to their weddings (Image: Martin Bennett/National Lottery) 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 local lad came up to me and asked if I’d take him to his school prom. I agreed – and from then on, it’s snowballed with other pupils asking me to take them so they can arrive in style.

“One teenage girl sat in the car and actually cried, because it was her dream car.”

It was during the pandemic, that Peter, who is a grandfather of ten,  branched out, helping a local bride when her wedding was cancelled four times and, when they could finally go ahead, she couldn’t get a wedding car in time.

Peter 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 looked up and saw my Bentley parked across the street, and realised she did have a beautiful wedding car.

“She wept so much that she had to go back in to get her make-up fixed.”

The grandfather of ten has also provided teenagers to proms and has given hospice patients a day out (Image: Martin Bennett/National Lottery)

Waiving what would be a £500 luxury wedding car fee for all of his ‘customers’, kind-hearted Peter said: “Since then, when I hear of a bride who can’t afford a car, I’ll step in to volunteer.

“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.”

Peter, who now has five luxury cars for his ‘customers’ to choose from, also uses his uses lottery winnings for other good deeds

He has 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.’

One memorable moment for Peter was granting a wish to a terminally ill girl who wanted to be ‘a princess for a day.’ (Image: Martin Bennett/National Lottery) “The local hospice rang me, and explained a young lady was terminally ill with cancer, could I help make her princess dream come true? Peter said. “I immediately said I would drive her, and when I turned up she was in a stunning white princess dress, with her hair and make-up done. The sight of her dressed up as a beautiful princess brought tears to my own eyes.”

Peter added: ‘A few months ago, I heard of a woman who couldn’t afford to get to her brother’s funeral in Redruth. 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.”

While his chauffeuring has brought so much joy to so many people, whether for pennies saved or a once-in-a-lifetime trip in a dream car, Peter’s generosity isn’t limited to four wheels.

Peter explained: “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!”

When Peter first won the Lotto jackpot, he immediately gave £1.2 million to fund an anti-gravity hydro pool at the nearby Merlin Centre, 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.

Together in total, his contributions have topped £1.4 million.

This November will mark 30 years of The National Lottery changing lives every day.

Since its launch in 1994, The National Lottery has created more than 7,200 millionaires or multi-millionaires across its games and, on average, seven millionaires are made every week - that’s a new millionaire for every day of the year.

By playing any National Lottery game, players generate £30M each week for National Lottery-funded projects.

With more than 690,000 grants having been made across the UK, this money supports everything from the arts to the sports sectors – from the local charity making a difference where you live to helping our nation’s athletes win Olympic and Paralympic medals.