Life's A Beach For Steven After £1m Win Makes Isle Of Wight Dream A Reality

Life’s now a beach for a dad and grandad from East London, who has become a National Lottery millionaire while on a visit to his beloved Isle of Wight.

Steven Bennett, 72, has a lifetime of happy memories from the Island, having holidayed there since childhood and while visiting his mum and dad ever since they moved there some 40 years ago.

Now, the Isle of Wight has provided another amazing memory, in the form of £1m EuroMillions win from the draw on 2 May with a ticket he bought somewhat by chance.

Steven, a widower and retired worker in the recycling industry explained:

“I sometimes buy a couple of Lucky Dips when I’m on the Island but that really depends on the queue — if there is one then I won’t bother.

"I had mum’s shopping that Friday, so I had enough to carry without queuing, so when there was no one in front of me it felt a bit like it was my lucky day — I just didn’t realise how lucky until the following week!

“I’d forgotten about the ticket and found it in my back pocket on the Monday.

"I checked it with my phone and I thought it said I had won £10k.

"I turned my phone off and on and cleaned my glasses, as I couldn’t believe it and wanted to double-check, but this time it said I had won £1m!

“At that point it was very much a case of ‘Gordon Bennett!’ for Steven Bennett, and I promptly had a sit down and a whiskey to calm down!”

However, as Steven didn’t immediately remember exactly where he’d bought his winning ticket when he phoned the National Lottery Line to make his claim, he had to go through further security checks before his win could be fully confirmed.

Steven, who has a cheeky sense of humour, used this slight delay to his advantage.

He explained:

“I like a little wind up of my family now and again and I didn’t tell them I was a millionaire straight away.

"Instead, I told them to come around for a BBQ back in East London a while later, where I was deliberately acting a bit ‘sus’.

"They knew something was up, so I told my daughter to come back the next day and I’d tell her what was going on.”

While his daughter Sally was told and later that day his sons, John and Tom, along with the wider family remained in the dark.

When his children and seven grandkids were eventually told on Appley Beach last week – they were all in shock, over-the-moon and disbelieving all at the same time.

Steven explained:

“On the subject of the grandkids, it was priceless telling them on the beach – I'll never forget the shock on their faces — once they have taken it in, I can only imagine my shopping list from them!

"As for me, a nice Rolex might well be on the cards, but I also want to take my time and let my money earn a little bit of interest too.”