A self-employed builder has today been named as the winner of a £76 million EuroMillions jackpot that went unclaimed for six weeks after he left it in his van.
Andrew Clark, from Boston in Lincolnshire, scooped the 12th biggest win ever in the UK after buying the winning ticket in his local Post Office.
Christmas has come early for the 51-year-old, who announced he will be taking early retirement after finding the £76million ticket stuffed in the visor of his Peugeot van.
Mr Clark revealed he 'stockpiled lottery tickets in his Peugeot Expert' and only checked after his girlfriend urged him to.'
The builder has already bought two cars and a house since he found out he was a winner last week, and said he and his family will remain in the UK over the festive period and enjoy dinner in a restaurant in Skegness on New Year's Eve.
Mr Clark said despite his £76million haul, he will continue to play the lottery.
Andrew Clark, 51, from Boston in Lincolnshire has been named as the winner of a £76 million EuroMillions jackpot
Overwhelmed: The 51-year-old revealed he stuffed his winning ticket in the visor of his van
The ticket was bought from Eastwood Road Post Office in Boston on November 2
Self-employed Mr Clark revealed himself as the winner at a press conference in Grantham on Friday morning.
Referring to himself as 'the man who nearly lost £76 million', he said he realised he was the mystery winner after he 'finally gave in' and began working his way through his stash of tickets one evening.
He and his partner, Trisha Fairhurst, 51, have already bought a new home and two cars but say 'the best thing about the win is how we can help all our family'.
The grandfather-of-three said: 'It almost feels like some magical Christmas story, the man who nearly lost £76 million! For all our family, I'm very pleased that Trisha and Louise nagged me to check those tickets.
'This Christmas is going to be a quiet affair, but next year will be a different story. Trisha and I have this vision of hiring a big lodge or hotel so that the whole family can get together and swap stories about how they've spent their share over the past 12 months.
'This win isn't just about Christmas magic, it's about creating a lifetime of magical moments for all those around us.'
Mr Clark, who was urged to check his stash by his partner, said: 'Trisha kept telling me to check the tickets, and her niece Louise, who I was building an extension for, was also in on it once she'd heard about the unclaimed prize in the news.
'It was something of a standing joke that I had all these tickets while there was a local prize outstanding, so for weeks they were on at me to check.'
The ticket was bought from Eastwood Road Post Office in Boston on November 2.
It will be a very happy Christmas for Mr Clark, who is the recipient of the 12th biggest win ever in the UK
The biggest winners on the EuroMillions lottery so far in the UK were Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs, North Ayrshire, who took home £161 million in July 2011.
Earlier this year, one lucky ticket-holder, who chose to remain anonymous, banked a £121 million jackpot in April while another took home just over £77 million in February.
Fred and Lesley Higgins, from Aberdeenshire, scooped the £57 million jackpot in the draw on July 10.
Who is the biggest ever UK lottery winner? Two couples and a former car mechanic top list
Here are the six previous biggest UK winners of the EuroMillions draw so far
1. In July 2011, Colin and Chris Weir became Europe's biggest lottery winners when they scooped more than £161million.
The couple, who have been married for 30 years, said they were ‘not scared’ of the wealth because they were going to have ‘so much fun’ with the money.
The pair, a retired TV cameraman and a retired psychiatric nurse, from Largs, in Ayrshire, said their children Carly, a photography student, and Jamie, a call centre worker, would be bought their own homes and cars.
The family made a £1million donation to the SNP shortly after winning.
Colin and Chris Weir became Europe's biggest lottery winners when they scooped more than £161million in 2011
2. Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Suffolk, took home more than £148 million in August 2012.
The marriage ended just 15 months into their new jackpot winning lives, citing the stress of the money as the reason they needed to split.
At the time, a spokesman for Mrs Bayford said: 'Gillian Bayford confirms that her marriage to Adrian has broken down irretrievably and they have separated.'
It came after Mrs Bayford was forced to deny she had an affair with the couple's gardener, Chris Tovey.
Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Suffolk, took home more than £148 million in August 2012
3. An unnamed ticket-holder claimed just over £113million in October 2010, and chose not go public.
4. Neil Trotter, from south London, won nearly £108million, going from former car mechanic to multimillionaire in March 2014.
Neighbours in Croydon described he and partner Nicky Ottaway moved out ‘almost overnight’ after they scooped the EuroMillions jackpot last March.
Mr Trotter admitted at the time that he was like his namesake, Del Boy Trotter from Only Fools And Horses.
Neil Trotter, with partner Nicky Ottaway, won nearly £108million, going from former car mechanic to multimillionaire in March 2014
5. A couple from Cambridgeshire, Dave and Angela Dawes, won more than £101million on their third go on the EuroMillions draw in October 2011.
Mr Dawes said he 'didn't sleep a wink' the night of the win, as it was too late to call Camelot after the couple checked their numbers.
Last year, the couple were taken to court by his son, an Afghanistan veteran, Michael Dawes, 32, who said he was 'ungenerous in spirit'.
But a judge ruled the millionaire father does not need to keep bailing out his son, who burnt through £1.6million in two years, and came back for more, failing to heed his stepmother's advice to stop eating at the Ritz and go to McDonald's instead.
6. A UK winner got a £93 million payout in June 2015, but decided to remain anonymous.
Dave and Angela Dawes won more than £101million on their third go on the EuroMillions draw in October 2011
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/21/builder-51-is-named-as-the-winner-of-a-76-million-euromillions-jackpot/
Main photo article A self-employed builder has today been named as the winner of a £76 million EuroMillions jackpot that went unclaimed for six weeks after he left it in his van.
Andrew Clark, from Boston in Lincolnshire, scooped the 12th biggest win ever in the UK after buying the winning ticket in his local Pos...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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