A WIRRAL couple who vowed to have operations on their knees after winning the Lottery are celebrating after successful surgery.

Greta Dodd and her husband, Tony, were fed up waiting for the NHS appointment to give them new knees when they learned they had won £2.4m.

They immediately decided to have their operations done privately. at Murrayfield Hospital, in Thingwall.

Greta, 69, went under the surgeon’s knife 10 weeks after retired taxi driver Tony had the same operation.

The surgery takes three hours so the couple are doing it one knee at a time so they can help each other recover.

Tony, 68, is due to return for the second operation in February when they come back from a Caribbean cruise. Greta will have the operation later in the year.

At the couple’s new home in Greasby, Greta said: "Winning the Lottery has transformed our lives."

"But because of the state of our knees we haven’t been able to enjoy it properly.

"We moved into a lovely new home and I want to be able to be able to enjoy my hobbies again.

"I love gardening, line dancing and aqua aerobics. But all this had to stop because of the state of my knees."

When she is back on her feet, Greta is planning to put on her cowboy boots and hit the dance floor.

Golf fan Tony said: "My operation was a success and I’m feeling benefits already so once Greta has recovered we can start enjoying ourselves together again."

The couple, who lived in Wallasey before their win, met 46 years ago in the Royal Navy Reserve and married after a whirlwind romance.

They have one daughter, Jane, 42, who said: "It’s great to see mum and dad up and about again."