A Tesco delivery driver from Fermanagh and his partner who won £3.8m in The National Lottery have spoken about how he was still delivering turkeys to unsuspecting customers just days before Christmas.
Ticket holder Jonny Johnston (45) was making his usual deliveries on Saturday, December 16, completely unaware his winning numbers had come up.
Going on to a Christmas night out with colleagues that evening, he then spotted an email from The National Lottery announcing there was “good news about his ticket.”
Thinking he may have just won a modest Lucky Dip prize, he went to sleep without realising his life had changed forever.
The next morning, he and his partner of 25 years Christine (46) decided to check the Lottery app one more time when they started to realise they might have woken up as millionaires.
Jonny said: “I was sitting on the edge of the bed on Sunday morning trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
“I just kept staring at the numbers on my account. I thought maybe I had won £38,000 but then there were too many zeros. I passed the phone to Christina for her to check and she was in disbelief too. We both began to think that it was a trick, a scam even.
“We decided we had better call Camelot and double-check.”
Once the news was confirmed by The National Lottery Team, the happy couple were finally able to break the news to their three adult children.
“The kids were silent at first, looking at both of us in disbelief,” said Jonny.
“And then the screaming and shouting started and everyone was jumping around the kitchen, cheering. Seeing as it was still early, we popped the kettle on and toasted the amazing news with a cup of coffee.”
Despite never needing to work again in his life, Jonny still had another shift at Tesco to complete on December 23 and didn’t want to leave his colleagues in the lurch.
Completing his ‘click and collect’ shift at the local store on December 23, he was handing over bags of Christmas turkeys to customers who had no idea they were being served by a secret millionaire.
The news has spread quickly through the local community, with Jonny’s Tesco colleagues expressing their joy at his news.
Jonny and Christina say they now plan to use their new fortune to provide financial security for their family as well as taking the chance to enjoy their first ever family holiday together.
With two sons aged 23 and 19 as well as a 20-year-old daughter, the family have never been abroad together and Jonny has never had a passport.
“I would love for us all to go to The Caribbean, maybe on a cruise as it sounds and looks incredible,”said Jonny.
“We have never had a family holiday together. I just need to apply for my passport first.”
Other dream purchases may include a vintage car for Jonny as well as a tractor for one of their farm-working children.
Still processing the happy shock, they said the winnings arrived just in time for Christmas with family gifts including designer handbags and £450 leather boots.
“I’m still in disbelief. This is a dream come true for me and my family,” said Jonny.
“I’ve always worked hard, and this win will allow us to do things we could only ever have dreamt of before. I am incredibly grateful and still trying to wrap my head around it all.”
Having played the Lotto for over 20 years, Jonny normally used the same numbers but the week before his winning ticket he had matched two numbers and won an additional Lucky Dip for – with the free Lucky Dip line proving to be the winner.
Playing on the Lottery app, his winning numbers were 4, 12, 23, 30, 50 and 56.
