Rail worker Mark Steele was on the right tracks when he chose his numbers for last week's Euromillions Lottery draw.
The 50-year-old grandad used his four children's, his and his wife's ages for the five numbers and two lucky stars in Friday's draw, and scooped £244,437.
His numbers were based on Jack, 17, Will, 24, David, 26, Selina, 27, and wife Sadie, 49, and he split his age into five and 10 for the two lucky star numbers. He also has a six-year-old granddaughter, Poppy. Mark celebrated his win by buying friends in his local pub, the Welby, in Nottingham Road, drinks – and will be back at work next week.
"I've not had time to think about what I'll do with the money yet," he said.
"It's not enough to retire on, but it makes a nice little cushion."
Already on the cards, though, are plans to pay off the mortgage on the former council house the family bought a few years ago, and wife Sadie, a care worker, will be getting a new car.
Mark, who works all over the country on rail electrification projects, said yesterday: "We'll probably have a family holiday, and it's Sadie's 50th birthday today, so we'll be going out somewhere at the weekend and if the kids want anything they can have it."
"The draw was on December 28, but I didn't check the ticket until the next day," he said.
"I was a bit shaky. I rang Camelot and they told me not to tell anyone, but I told them it was too late.
"I've done the lottery since it started, but this is my first big win. I do the National Lottery as well and I've won the odd hundred here and there."
Mark, who has lived in Melton all his life and whose family all live locally, said: "I come into the Welby every day so I put a tab behind the bar for all the people I've known in here. I'm quite laidback about things.
"I work every weekend and go all over the country fitting overhead electrification on railway tracks. It's a job I've done for 13 years and I'll be back there next week."
Friend and fellow pub regular Jeff Baker, 53, of Melton, said: "Good luck to the old boy. He's a family guy, a nice guy, a local, one of the lads. It's nice to see him win and it's nice to have a bit of good news for a change."
