A grandad has revealed that he called the lottery claims line twice after scooping the £1m Euromillions jackpot to make sure he'd really won.
Arthur Howard, 74, from East Kilbride, said he went into shock after discovering he had won the prize.
Mr Howard, who celebrated his 74th birthday yesterday, was one of seven people who won £1m and an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai in the Euromillions Mega Friday draw on January 29.
He said: “It has taken a while to sink in; I even had to phone the claim line twice just to make sure it was the real thing! When I first phoned and heard the words ‘congratulations you’re a millionaire’ I went in to complete shock and told the call handler I would have to hang up and give her a call back.
“My youngest son came over to me as he was worried something was wrong as all the colour had drained from my face. I told him and he wouldn’t believe me so we called the claim line back, putting it on loud speaker this time, and she said it again ‘you are a millionaire’. It really was quite something!"
The taxi driver, who toasted his win with his wife Emma , now plans to retire and will replace his cab with a new white Audi on Friday.
He bought his winning ticket at his local One-O-One shop.
He said: “Winning a million as well as a dream-holiday to Dubai is quite unbelievable but it might start to feel real on Friday when I pick up my brand new white Audi! It was the first thing I went to buy as soon as I found out and on my way back I picked up my wife from Marks and Spencer. She was worried because her pound was stuck in the trolley but she doesn’t need to worry about the odd pound now!”
Tearful Mrs Howard said she does not know what she will buy first but is glad her children will not have to worry about them any more.
She said: "They worried about us getting older. I saw their faces and I thought, 'we can make things happen for them as well'."
Mr Howard said: "It's a life-changing sum for a lot of people. I hope it doesn't change me much - I don't want to become a pain in the butt."
The EuroMillions Mega Friday winner was one of seven players who each banked £1 million and break to Dubai in the EuroMillions draw on January 29.
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