Lotto winners are pulling pints again

A pub landlord and his wife who were evicted penniless three years after winning £258,000 on the National Lottery are back pulling pints and making money.

Allen and Pauline Parkes found themselves jobless, desperate and facing ruin when their luck totally changed after putting their CV here on Expressandstar.com. They were offered the chance to take over a failing Wolverhampton pub, where they have now quadrupled the takings in just three months.

And ironically, the first thing that they did to change the boozer's fortunes was to start selling beer from the brewery that is trying to bankrupt them.

"We insisted on Banks's bitter and mild going on tap within days of arriving," explained Mr Parkes, 46, from behind the bar of the Jolly Collier in Old Heath Road, Wednesfield.

"I have sold that beer in all my pubs and the fact that it is now owned by Marston's, who are taking us to court, was never an issue. In fact, they sent a letter thanking us for opening an account with them," he explained.

The father-of-two has run several pubs in the area and was chosen from almost 3,000 landlords to lift the coveted Cask Ale pub of the year title a couple of years ago. His wife won the lottery while they were running The Angel in Wednesfield and they spent some of the windfall taking over a second pub The True Briton.

That move sparked a dispute with Marston's over the conditions of the license at The True Briton that led to them being evicted from both public houses.

Marston's sued them for £18,500 and they counter claimed for £80,000. The brewery have now handed them a £21,000 bill for the legal action.

Mr Parkes confessed: "I was out of work for four months after we were evicted by Marston's and I put on three stones in weight. I was just sleeping and eating. It was terrible.

"The offer of the Jolly Collier was our last chance and the final throw of the dice for a pub that had been failing," he added.

Mrs Parkes said: "Our possessions are still in bin bags in the cellar and we lie awake worrying about the court case but at least we are back doing the job we love."