A BUS driver who won the lottery said he went to work the next day and no one had a clue he was a millionaire.
Steve Goodwin from Devon was honking his horn with delight after driving away with the top prize of £1million on a National Lottery Bank The Cash scratchcard.
The wheels of fortune really delivered for Steve who went to the supermarket to buy some bread but ended up scooping the golden ticket.
And despite hitting the big time on Easter Monday, Steve went straight into work the next day for his normal shift driving between Launceston and Plymouth.
The delighted punter said that he laughed to himself at first as not a soul knew he had won.
Steve, 51, said: “As the people hopped on, I was chuckling to myself. There I was a bus driver, with a load of passengers on board, and nobody knows I’m a millionaire.
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“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.
“When they found out I had won, they were delighted for me. They couldn’t be happier for me.”
Having rented all his life, never able to get onto the property ladder, the first purchase Steve is going to make is buy his first-ever home.
Steve, 51, said: “I needed some bits and bobs from the Co-Op. But I went into the kebab shop next door first to order a doner.
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We sold our home and bought an abandoned caravan park for to live mortgage free
"I then shopped in the store for some bread and stuff and got to the till to pay.
"I decided to buy a scratchcard and scratched it when I got outside. The final number on the card was 73 which I hoped meant I had won big.”
Steve went back inside and showed the scratchcard to staff and they confirmed that he needed to contact The National Lottery.
He said: “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.
Steve, now home, said, “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.”
Steve called his mum first to tell her of his amazing news, then partner Heidi.
“No-one believed me, I had to take a photo and send a picture. I too couldn’t really believe it. I just sat there looking at it, holding it tightly.
"And that night I put the scratchcard in an envelope and put it under my pillow for safe keeping.”
Originally from Leicester, Steve moved down to Devon for a more relaxed way of life and to be closer to his parents who live in the South West.
He re-trained as a bus driver, passed his test last year and now drives for Go Cornwall.
Steve’s girlfriend, Heidi Hammond, 51, from Ashwater is a clock maker. The pair have already booked a holiday and Steve has bought a new car.
Both Steve and Heidi have always rented so they’ll be buying a home together with the winnings.
He said, “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. 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.”
Steve enjoys fishing day trips around Devon and Cornwall and metal detecting.
The lucky punter is a regular National Lottery player and bought the winning Bank The Cash scratchcard at the Co-op, Stanhope Square, in Devon on Easter Monday this year.
The scratch card costs £5 and prizes range from £5 up to the top prize of £1,000,000.
Players can buy and check their tickets online by downloading the National Lottery app or at national-lottery.co.uk.
Punters can also buy and check tickets in retail.
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Playing online via the app or website means that your ticket is checked, and you get an email notification if you win a prize.
You can also scan your retail tickets on the National Lottery app to check if you're a winner.
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