A Scottish man is in the money after he scooped a multimillion-pound Lotto jackpot at the weekend.
John Bowman, from Forfar, was over the moon when he thought he had won £10,000 until a friend informed him it was actually more than £10 million.
The 59-year-old said: “I checked my numbers in the house on Sunday morning and thought I’d been lucky enough to win £10,000. I went over to a friend’s so he could double check it for me and when he looked it up on his phone he realised it was actually 1,000 times that amount – £10,317,199 to be exact! I was delighted.
“I went back home and phoned my two daughters Lisa (28) and Emma (26), I told them to sit down because I had some news for them – they didn’t believe me at first.”
His next stop was the local pub to celebrate his win: “My first drink as a millionaire was still a pint of beer.”
John has played Lotto since it launched more than 20 years ago, playing five lines of the same numbers every week. When 10 extra balls were added to Lotto last October John decided to update his lines to include some of the new numbers.
“I’ve played the Lottery since it started but I haven’t had any big wins, just three numbers here and there. When the new balls were introduced I thought I better update my lines to include some numbers in the 50s. Lucky I did because my winning line had 51 and 55 in it!”
He intends to splash out on a place in the sun with some of his winnings: “The first thing I did was to look after my daughters and I will also be sharing some of my good fortune with family and friends.
“I want to buy a home abroad, somewhere with plenty of sun, and I also like travelling so I’ll be looking at holidays in Europe. I enjoy Formula 1 too so I think a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix will be on the cards.”
John, who played for Perth team St Johnstone when he was younger, is still a sports fan: “I enjoy watching football but I don’t support any particular team. I quite often go along to see my local side Forfar Athletic so I’ll keep doing that.
“The win also means I’ll have plenty of time to play more golf and bowls, I’m a member of Canmore Bowling Club.”
One thing John won’t be doing is heading back to work. The former ladder builder worked for local firm Ramsay Ladders: “They are a lovely local family business. I’ve been in touch and they are all delighted for me but I won’t be keeping on my job.”
John bought his ticket from RS McColl on East High Street, Forfar.
The winning numbers from the Lotto draw on Saturday 16 April were 2, 5, 14, 42, 51 and 55 and the bonus ball was 54.