The toast for bricklayer Ryan Lightfoot after winning £225,000 was to his late father Stephen.
He died ten years ago, but 38-year-old Ryan kept on using his numbers on the Irish Lotto – and it paid off when 4, 6, 15, 38 and 40 were all drawn, landing him the extraordinary jackpot from a minimal stake of £1.50.
“It’s mind blowing,” said the father-of-two from Rotherham who was on holiday in Scarborough when he nipped into the local Betfred shop to place his wager.
He added: “The first thing I’ll be doing with my winnings paying off the mortgage, and then I’ll be thinking of a new car and an extension at our home. We’ll also be going on holiday, probably back to Rhodes where we got married.
“It is a mind-blowing, life-changing amount to win and it has come at a handy time as with the weather being so bad and me being a self-employed bricklayer there hasn’t been so much work around.
“My dad passed away ten years ago and I’ve stuck with his numbers. He was always big on the Irish Lotto.
“I’ve been close before, but I’ve never won anything like this. I had about an hour and a half of sleep the night I found out I’d hit the jackpot with all five numbers that were chosen randomly, not around birthdays or anything like that.”
Betfred boss Fred Done said:
“It’s a cracking win for this hard-working Betfred regular who can now improve life for himself, his wife and their two children.”
