�Councillor Phil Kelly might have thought he won the lottery when he was made Mayor of Islington last week – but his wife claimed a prize of Olympic proportions.

Dorothy Jones, of Windsor Road, Holloway, was one of the first 500 people around the world to win a pair of tickets to see the London 2012 Olympics.

The 60-year-old, who herself became Mayoress of Islington last week, was handed the tickets early as part of a special promotion by her bank – while the rest of the world will have to wait until later in the month.

She said: “I was over the moon when I found out I had won the tickets. Normally a phone call from your bank is a bad thing but this was a great phone call to take.

“The reason I entered in the first place is because I am a real Londoner having been born in London and living in Islington for over 25 years.

“I want to be involved in the Olympics in any way I can because I think it is a special event that all Londoners should be proud of because we get to show off our wonderful capital.”

Ticket winners were drawn at random from the Lloyds TSB programme, with 500 people being given the chance to watch one of the 26 Olympic sports and 20 Paralympic sports at London 2012 over 31 action-packed days.

Good news

Former Southwark College principal Mrs Jones added: “I don’t yet know what events I will be seeing but I know that I will bring my husband Phil along with me.

“If I could chose it is difficult but I guess I would go for the athletics and in particular the women’s 100m or 400m final, that would be amazing.I am just happy with whatever I get and the chance to cheer on the British team.”

Councillor Kelly said: “It’s quite a coincidence – now I’m waiting for the third bit of good news. Although I’m still more excited about being mayor – it lasts longer!”

Those who have applied for Olympic tickets through the official website can expect to find out whether they have been successful over the next four weeks.