It’s hardly a ‘spend, spend, spend’ promise, but lucky Lee Kirk knows just what he wants to do with a £50,000 lottery windfall.
Car salesman Lee, who only scooped the Euromillions cash through a lucky accident, is planning to splash out on new guttering.
There are new cars on the shopping list, too, as well as a holiday and perhaps even a bathroom facelift.
But the first thing the 54-year-old wants to sort out is that humdrum home improvement.
Lee, who lives in the St Nicholas area of Stevenage, bought his winning ticket while buying petrol for what he thought was the Lotto draw.
But by chance he selected five numbers for the EuroMillions draw rather than a Lotto Lucky Dip.
His ‘mistake’ only became clear the following morning, when he and wife Lorraine realised he had five matching numbers.
The 54-year-old said: “The memory of that morning will stay with me forever, it was like a Benny Hill sketch with us running in and out of the bedrooms and then downstairs to look on the main computer.
“When Lorraine logged on to the National Lottery website to triple check the numbers and we still had five matching we started to believe that it might actually be right.”
But it took two more days for Lee to believe he had really won.
He said: “I didn’t start to believe it was real until a man from Camelot came round and said ‘Yep, you’ve won, and the money will be in your bank by Saturday’.
“The family is over the moon.”
Lee said most of the money will be saved but that he will splash out on new cars for his son James, 24, and Lorraine.
His daughter Danielle will receive a few treats and will also be going on holiday with the couple to Corfu.
And what will Lee be spending his cash on? “My treat, new gutters and fascia on the house,” he said.
“It might not sound very exciting to many people but for me it’s the best sign that we have money in the bank.
“Usually I will do all the jobs at home so that I can save money, I can’t wait to get out the Yellow Pages and make that call for a local tradesman to come out and do the work instead.
“In fact, I might get a taste for it – the bathroom needs doing, too!”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here