Bus driver wins £1 million on scratch card while waiting for kebab
What's the best thing that's ever happened to you while waiting for a kebab? Accidentally given a large portion instead of a medium? Made a new friend in the takeaway? How about winning £1 million?
There probably aren't many people out there who can relate to that last option, but one man who can is 51-year-old Steve Goodwin, from Holsworthy in South Devon.
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It was a day like any other for Goodwin, who works as a bus driver.
He'd popped to the Co-Op to pick up some 'bits and bobs', but his hunger got the better of him so he went to the kebab shop next door first to order a doner.
While he was waiting, he went to the supermarket to get some bread and other bits before heading over the till.
"I decided to buy a scratchcard and scratched it when I got outside," Goodwin said. "The final number on the card was 73 which I hoped meant I had won big.”
And win big he had - £1 million, to be exact.
Goodwin quickly headed back into the shop to show the Bank The Cash scratch card to staff, who then confirmed his win and said he needed to contact The National Lottery.
Goodwin explained: "I had been a bit longer than I thought so I went into the kebab shop, got my doner, and drove home although I can’t remember much of the journey, as I was a bit emotional. I am not embarrassed to say I shed a tear.
“I sat in the kitchen and tried to eat my kebab, but I couldn’t. In the end I just put it in the bin.
"I then told my landlady that I needed to make an important call and asked if I could use her landline, and I rang the National Lottery people.”
His win was official, but Goodwin didn't immediately set about changing his routine. Instead, he headed straight into work the next day for his regular shift, driving between travelling between Launceston and Plymouth.
“As the people hopped on, I was chuckling to myself," he recalled. "There I was a bus driver, with a load of passengers on board, and nobody knows I’m a millionaire."
“I love my job, it great to meet so many people and the countryside as you drive around is sometimes breath-taking. The people at my depot have been great with me as the new boy," Goodwin added.
“When they found out I had won, they were delighted for me. They couldn’t be happier for me.”
Goodwin and his girlfriend, Heidi Hammond, are now planning to celebrate their win with a holiday, and the bus driver has already treated himself to a new car.
Having rented all his life, he also plans to spend a big chunk of his winnings on a new home.
“I’ve never had much, ever. I’ve always rented, just throwing my money away on a roof over my head. The win will change everything," he said. "We’ll have a home for the first time ever, with no mortgage and still have enough for retirement.
“I will continue working, so will Heidi but we plan to have more holidays. We are now both debt free which is unbelievable and it’s a wonderful nest egg for our retirement.
"Life is pretty good.”
Topics: Money, National Lottery, UK News
Emily Brown