A FATHER-OF-TWO said he made a cup of tea and watched the football after discovering he had won over £1 million on the National Lottery.

Paul McDonald, 48, from Bexhill, had spent Sunday afternoon putting up Christmas lights and was checking his emails when he discovered he won the "utterly life-changing" prize of £1,063,516.

He said: "I’d like to pretend I leapt about celebrating but instead I logged out, shutdown the computer, made myself a cup of tea and watched the football for five minutes.

"I think it was my way of dealing with the surprise but a slurp of tea and a bit of football kickstarted me again.

"I then logged back into the account about 30 times, each time expecting it to disappear but always seeing the same winning amount."

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He took a screen grab of the seven-figure sum and rushed to join his partner for the second half of a Christmas pantomime which his daughter was taking part in.

However, in the gloomy light, she misread the amount as £1,036 and whispered back "Great, we can get the bathroom done", before watching the rest of the show.

Paul said: "It’s crazy – one minute you’re battling with extension leads and focused on putting up the Christmas lights, hoping to make it to the second half of the local Christmas panto to see your youngest’s performance, the next you’re a millionaire."

"I’ve worked all my life, I’m proud to be a grafter from a family of grafters, so to suddenly discover on a Sunday evening that I’ve won more money than most people earn in a lifetime is taking some time for the analytical side of my brain to absorb."

Paul, who works in distribution, said he does not plan on quitting his job, despite his newfound wealth, but said the money will help pay off the family's mortgage.

He said: "It will be nice to know that every pay cheque is mine, not to be shared with the mortgage lender."

While he plans to make sure some of the money goes towards his children's future, he said the win will allow them to enjoy "little sparkles every now and then".

"Whether it’s a luxury ski-holiday to Aspen, Christmas trips to Lapland, meals out with family and friends, or weekends away just for us, breaking out from daily life and making memories is going to be utterly life-changing,”

Mr McDonald bought his £1,063,516 winning ticket for the Must Be Won draw on Saturday December 11 on the National Lottery website, and the lucky numbers were 6, 13, 14, 15, 31, 33 with bonus ball 38.

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