Life changing

£1Million is the catch of the day for fishing fanatic

A keen angler from Horley in Surrey has landed the biggest catch of the day – a £1Million UK Millionaire Maker win from the special EuroMillions Event draw on Friday 1st March 2019, when The National Lottery created an incredible 40 millionaires in one night.

£1Million floating about

Paul Trollope, 61, had popped into his local supermarket for a few bits of shopping when he bought his Lucky Dip ticket for the EuroMillions draw that night. One he got back into his van, he threw the ticket onto the dashboard thinking no more about it.

“I had a busy weekend, doing errands, a spot of fishing and what not, jumping in and out of the van. When I think all that time there was a ticket for £1Million floating about on the dash it makes me shudder!”

Surreal situation

It was the following Monday when Paul discovered he was Surrey’s latest millionaire. He went into the shop and asked the shop assistant to check his tickets and was congratulated on a £2.30 win, before she handed over a slip of paper saying ‘you’d better call Camelot’.

“To be honest I thought there was a problem with the ticket and didn’t think much of it. I jumped in the van and called Camelot. The chap on the phone ran through all the security and then said ‘Are you sitting down? Congratulations you’ve won £1Million!’ It was the most surreal situation, I just sat in the van for 20 minutes shaking before deciding I’d head over to one of my favourite places, my mate’s angling shop in Horley to share the news.”

What a catch!

Arriving at the tackle shop, his friend Paul Morroni asked if Paul was okay because he looked very distracted. Paul said ‘I think I’ve just won £1Million!’ Both Pauls then just laughed!

Paul wasted no time sharing the great news with family and friends who all displayed varying degrees of disbelief but were all naturally over the moon for him.

Keep rolling

While many new millionaires might have given up work there and then, lorry driver Paul has no such plans.

“I’ve been driving for a living since I was just shy of 16 and can’t imagine doing anything else. I’ve driven lorries for the British Army and all over the world so while I’m now doing domestic runs, I think I’d get itchy feet just sitting at home.”

The open road

So conscious of his itchy feet is Paul, who spent much of his childhood in Canada, that he has already treated himself to a 34-foot Winnebago so that he can head out on the open road on fishing trips in luxury.

“I love my fishing, whether relaxed coarse fishing or open matches. Just being outside in the elements, enjoying the peace and freedom is the best feeling. I already travel all over to try different fishing spots and I’ll continue to do that, just in a little more luxury with the Winnebago.

“I have a yearning to head back to Canada to fish in those great lakes but have a slight concern I’ll love it so much I won’t come home, then again, with £1Million in the bank, maybe I won’t need to! I guess that’s the gift of a lottery win, suddenly what was once a dream becomes very much a reality.”

25th March 2019

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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