SCHOOL’S out for a lucky janitor – after he scooped £183k on EuroMillions.
John McDowell, 53, from Bathgate, West Lothian, plans on taking early retirement after his shock win earlier this month.
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The dad-of-three, who cares for his own father, made himself a cup of tea to calm down after realising he’d struck gold.
But now he has more lavish plans he’s looking forward to as he tries to process his life-changing windfall.
John said: “I absolutely love my job but winning this money will mean I get to retire that little bit earlier and put my feet up sooner.
“I can’t wait to treat my family – my brother has never been abroad before so the first thing I wanted to do was book a holiday somewhere hot and sunny for us both.
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“I asked him whether he fancied spending Christmas in Egypt as it would be nice to spend some time swapping the cold Scottish weather for somewhere warm at that time of year.
“He agreed, so I told him to get a passport ordered. It will be a really special holiday.”
He added: “I have been wanting to get myself a new car for a while, but I’ve been putting it off, but I’ll definitely be shopping for one soon.
“I like to travel up north to get away from it all, so I’d love to get an SUV-style car – maybe a Kia Sportage – to help me explore.
“I would also like to help my daughters plan for their futures, so I’ll now also be able to help them to get on the property ladder when the time’s right.”
John had bought lottery tickets for three years without success prior to hitting the jackpot but matched the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number in the EuroMillions draw on September 6.
The school caretaker was just about to go to bed when his phone pinged with an email from The National Lottery.
He almost ignored the message to get some kip before curiosity got the better of him.
John said: “Everyone in the house was in bed so I made myself a cup of tea before telling anyone – I then woke my dad up to tell him and he didn’t understand at first – he thought I was joking.
“It’s so surreal, I still can’t believe it.”
