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Euromillions winner of £107.9m jackpot named | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The lucky winner of the £107.9m Euromillions jackpot has been named as Neil Trotter, a car mechanic and motor racing enthusiast from south London. | |
Trotter was revealed as the National Lottery's fourth biggest-ever winner at a press conference on Tuesday. | |
The 41-year-old, who runs a repair garage called Chameleon Coachworks, said he planned to trade in his oil-stained Ford Focus for a fleet of supercars after becoming a multimillionaire overnight. | |
"I've always thought I'd win big and I'd had a good feeling all week," Trotter said. "On Friday evening we were sitting at home when I checked the time and thought the draw must have taken place by now. | |
"I took out my ticket to check the winning numbers and amazingly one by one they matched. I told Nicky, my partner, 'I've done it, I've won the lottery'. But she told me to shut up and to stop being an idiot." | "I took out my ticket to check the winning numbers and amazingly one by one they matched. I told Nicky, my partner, 'I've done it, I've won the lottery'. But she told me to shut up and to stop being an idiot." |
Trotter said he turned white as a sheet when he checked his ticket at around 10.30pm on Friday and that Nicky Ottaway, his partner of eight years, started screaming after double-checking the numbers. | |
"Next we called my dad, but he said I was being an idiot too and that I should stop drinking. But I hadn't had a drop. Even when we jumped in the car and drove round, it took him a while to realise we were serious. My dad's not often lost for words but he was on Friday night," he said. | |
Trotter said he expected to get some stick over his surname, which he shares with fictional TV wheeler dealer brothers Del Boy and Rodney: "Me and my dad thought we'd heard all the Only Fools and Horses jokes, but I can see this is going to run and run. Still, being Trotters we were always going to be millionaires one day." | |
The motor racing fanatic came sixth in last summer's BMW Compact Cup which he entered as a newcomer. | |
Until last week he had been building his own racer – but his newfound fortune meant he could hang up his overalls and now buy a top-of-the-range supercar. | |
"I worked my last shift on Friday repairing and spraying other people's cars," he said. "I have a few phone calls to make to let people down, but this is my time now. I'm taking time off and going to really enjoy following the British touring car championships. | |
"I drive a Ford Focus at the moment. It's always been reliable but the steering wheel is black from oil off my hands and it's time for an upgrade. | |
"There are a lot of stunning cars out there – I'm going to need a lot of garage space at the new house. I would love to own a Hyper car – that would be amazing, something like the McLaren – although I'm not sure how easy they are to get hold of." | |
Trotter and Ottoway plan to spend their winnings on a new home, one big enough to house a fleet of expensive vehicles, probably, and a stable for some horses, and a holiday abroad – once Trotter has renewed his passport. | |
Based on the Sunday Times Rich List for 2013, Trotter becomes the 745th richest person in the UK, with a fortune that would narrowly outrank that of pop stars George Michael and Robbie Williams, who have an estimated wealth of £105m each. | |
Trotter's single lucky dip ticket was bought from a Londis on Wallington Corner in Wallington, south London, a short drive from his semi-detached home in Coulsdon. | |
A worker at the shop told the Guardian he could not recall selling the winning ticket – and that he only found out on Tuesday morning in a phone call from Camelot. | |
"Obviously I'm surprised – it's not a small amount. Camelot called us and said somebody won a lottery ticket sold by you," he said, before adding: "Can you call at another time? I'm busy." |