Disbelief in Derbyshire after successful lotto win

A player of the National Lottery, who lives in Dronfield, has been extremely lucky and won a substantial cash prize, when he matched five lottery numbers and the bonus.

Mr Martin Simpson, who is 59 years of age, quit his job a few weeks prior to winning the National Lottery, to enable him to start up his own minibus company. However, Mr Simpson was checking Teletext for flight times when he realised he had not checked his lottery numbers.

Mr Simpson said: “I had a pick-up at East Midlands Airport in the early hours so was checking the flight arrivals,” he explained. “I noticed page 555 was to check the numbers so for the first time ever I checked them on TV. I initially thought I had won a tenner, then noticed five numbers and then the bonus ball. I just couldn’t believe it."

“The office didn’t open until 9am so I popped into the Gosforth Valley Co-op to get my ticket checked,” Martin said. “I didn’t want to call the National Lottery without being sure. They confirmed the amount and then I just waited until 9am and the people at the Lottery confirmed.”