A GAS engineer who went into a shop to buy a newspaper came out �50,000 richer.

On Tuesday at 7am, Mark Kitchener stopped off at Clothall Common Food and Wine in Baldock, as he does every morning, to get a newspaper.

At the same time, he decided to buy a �5 Monopoly scratchcard.

“I went back to the car to scratch it off,” he explained. “I thought I’d won �10 and then scratched off more and it was �10,000.”

Mr Kitchener, who lives on Clothall Common in Baldock, went back into the shop to finish scratching the card and discovered he had won a further four lots of �10,000.

The 47-year-old said: “It was quite funny.

“I called my wife, Carole, who thought I was joking at first and then the reality hit her.

“We will probably go out for a nice quiet meal at the weekend to celebrate.

“It’s nice to win something and know it’s local as well.”

Shop owner Gary Basra said: “He was the second customer in the shop.

“It’s the most any of my customers have ever won. I’m very happy for him.”

Mr Kitchener contacted Camelot and was told to take the scratchcard to a post office.

At St Mary’s Way Post Office in Baldock, he was given a cheque for �50,000, which he paid into his bank yesterday morning (Wednesday).

He said the money will sit there until he and his wife, who works in financial services, decide how to spend it.

Early ideas for the money include splashing out on a holiday and investing money in Mr Kitchener starting up his own business as a gas engineer.