The 20-year-old girlfriend’s reaction to the life changing sum was less than enthusiastic (Image: Anthony Devlin/National Lottery/PA Wire)
A young tradesman who scooped a whopping £7.5 million in the has shared his girlfriend’s hilarious reaction to the moment he discovered he had won an eye-watering sum.
James Clarkson, 20, couldn’t believe his luck when he won a massive life changing amount of money in the Lotto jackpot on January 4.
The tradesman, who works with his parents Stephen and Becky, said he bought the winning tickets after scooping £120 in the special Lotto draw.
He used part of that prize to buy five lines for the New Year’s draw, including two Lucky Dip lines and three lines of randomly selected numbers.
It was one of the randomly chosen lines that delivered James’ life-changing prize to kick-start 2025.
James scooped a whopping £7.5m in the National Lottery (Image: Anthony Devlin/National Lottery/PA Wire)
Don’t miss…
Recounting the moment he found out, James said he was at his girlfriend’s house on January 5 and had woken up early to admire the snowfall, reports
While checking his phone, he noticed a message from the National Lottery. “At first, I couldn’t see anything, but then I scrolled down and realised I’d matched all six main numbers. I saw the prize amount—£7,533,329—and thought I was dreaming!”
After realising that he had won the jackpot he excitedly woke his girlfriend up but her reaction was less than enthusiastic and even fell back to sleep.
He said: “I woke up my girlfriend and showed her my ticket on the phone. She took a sleepy glance and said ‘no, you haven’t won’, turned over and went back to sleep!
“I wasn’t so sure, so I called my dad as I knew he would be awake. He calmly told me to come home and we’d have a look.”
Don’t miss… [REACTION]
James celebrated the win with a roast beef dinner and champagne (Image: Anthony Devlin/National Lottery/PA Wire)
Back at his parents’ house, James sat with his family — dad Stephen, mum Becky, and brother Thomas, 24 — waiting for the National Lottery Line to open at 9am. After calling bang on 9am the operator confirmed the win.
To celebrate the news James’ excited family gathered at his grandparents’ house for a roast beef dinner and champagne. “News spread fast—we’re a close family!” James said.
The trainee gas engineer from Carlisle in Cumbria, pledges to keep working despite winning a lottery jackpot of more than £7.5m.
The now millionaire said: “I need to have a purpose in life, plus dad wouldn’t let me not work anyway. He says there are plenty of millionaires out there that still work and you need a reason to get up each day.”