THEY do say things come in threes - and when Saints-mad Hampshire couple Paul and Karen Richards netted £2.2m on the lottery, it was their third win of the day.

Earlier Paul had won £427 on the football pools and £10 on the National Lottery Thunderball draw.

So he could not believe his incredible luck when he then discovered he had won the £2,209,089 Lotto jackpot in Saturday's draw.

Paul, 30, said: "I've never won anything before. We're not usually lucky at all."

As reported in yesterday's Daily Echo, Paul and Karen, who live in Lordshill, Southampton, had played the Lotto every Wednesday and Saturday since its launch before matching all six numbers to win the top prize.

The avid Saints fans, who held their wedding reception at the Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium on Paul's 30th birthday in May, have put a Saints season ticket at the top of their spending list.

Yesterday they celebrated their victory at the stadium with Saints legend Matthew Le Tissier.

Paul, a self-employed electrician, said: "I've always been a Saints fan. I haven't been to that many matches but if I could have afforded to I would've gone every week. Now I can."

Karen, who bought Paul an engraved paving slab at the St Mary's ground for Christmas, first discovered their win on Saturday night when they returned home from a meal with friends at the Wild Orchid restaurant in Vernon Walk, Southampton.

The couple, who have two children Connor, six, and Cerys, two, decided to check their Lucky Dip ticket on Teletext before going to bed.

Paul said: "I usually check them every Sunday before Match of the Day, but because earlier that day I'd placed a football bet and won, I was feeling lucky. I'd also won a tenner the same day on the Thunderball.

"They do say your luck comes in threes but we've never won anything before."

Karen, 30, said: "I just sat down and I couldn't believe it. I was crying and I thought 'Oh my God, we've won'."

The couple are now planning on swapping their three-bedroom detached house for a bigger pad, and trading in their H-registration Sierra for a new four-wheel drive car.

They'll also be taking a holiday to Las Vegas and treating the children to a trip to Hamley's toyshop in London.

Karen, a learning support assistant, said: "I work at the school where Connor goes so I have to go there anyway. I only work part-time so I'm not sure if I'll leave."

Paul, who says he has not slept since his win, is also undecided about his job.

He added: "I don't know whether I'm coming or going."