£7m Lotto winner missed live draw

A painter and decorator who won more than £7 million on the National Lottery missed the moment his numbers came up after falling asleep in front of the television.

Willie Sibbald, 48, from Moredun, Edinburgh, scooped £7,084,472 in Saturday night's Lotto Rollover draw when he matched all six numbers on his Lucky Dip ticket.

He had missed the live draw after falling asleep and only realised he was a multimillionaire later when he was watching TV and spotted the winning numbers during an advert break.

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He said: "I was staying the night at my relative's house and when I saw the numbers I shouted through to her 'I've won the Lottery'. She came through and we checked the ticket again and again.

"My brother was on a night out so I waited until the following morning and called his wife to pass on the good news. She didn't believe me at first and thought I was joking - it's not exactly a call you expect on a Sunday morning."

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No more working

Mr Sibbald, who decorates houses and commercial properties, has decided to give up work and said he will most likely spend some of his newly-acquired spare time learning to drive.

He said: "It's been such a whirlwind I've not had time to really think about what I will do with the money, but I will probably learn to drive and get myself a car.

"I'm a big fan of the Scottish national side and try to go to as many games as I can. I will be at the qualifier for the European Championships on September 7 (in Germany) and at least now I won't have to worry about getting to the rest of the away matches.

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"I played the National Lottery every week before I won and, to be honest, I think I will keep playing."

The winning ticket was bought at the newsagent's on Moredun Park Road, Moredun. The winning Lotto numbers were 16, 36, 40, 43, 45, 47 and the bonus ball was 10.

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