My dad was sure I was kidding when I told him I’d won £180,000 on the EuroMillions – even I still can’t believe it
A SCHOOL caretaker's dad was sure his son was kidding when he revealed he had won £180,000 on EuroMillions.
John McDowell, 53, from Bathgate, Scotland, still can't believe his luck after striking big in the lottery.
The father-of-three won £183,257.40 on September 6 and is now set to change his life after the "surreal" win.
He said: "On the night I won, I was just about to go to bed and had a quick look at my phone and saw an email from The National Lottery.
"I was going to ignore it as I thought it would be nothing, but curiosity got the better of me and I had a look and realised it said I had matched five main numbers and one Lucky Star.
"Everyone in the house was in bed so I made myself a cup of tea before telling anyone - I then woke my dad up to tell him and he didn't understand at first - he thought I was joking.
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"It's so surreal, I still can't believe it."
He's going to take his brother overseas for the first time to spend a hot Christmas in Africa.
John said: "I can't wait to treat my family - my brother has never been abroad before so the first thing I wanted to do was book a holiday somewhere hot and sunny for us both.
"I asked him whether he fancied spending Christmas in Egypt as it would be nice to spend some time swapping the cold Scottish weather for somewhere warm at that time of year.
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"He agreed, so I told him to get a passport ordered. It will be a really special holiday."
John is now also hoping to retire before he turns 60: "I absolutely love my job but winning this money will mean I get to retire that little bit earlier and put my feet up sooner.";
If there's any cash left over, John will also use his winnings to help his daughters get on the property ladder.
"I would also like to help my daughters plan for their futures, so I'll now also be able to help them to get on the property ladder when the time's right."
And he's planning to splash out on a new car, and to get his mother a new kitchen after winning
"I have been wanting to get myself a new car for a while, but I've been putting it off, but I'll definitely be shopping for one soon.
"I like to travel up north to get away from it all, so I'd love to get an SUV-style car - maybe a Kia Sportage - to help me explore."
He matched the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number in the EuroMillions draw on September 6.
The winning numbers from that draw were 12, 14, 34, 41, 47 and the Lucky Star numbers were 3 and 4.
