I celebrated my lottery win in Blackpool after thinking I dreamt it all up!

A lucky man from Edinburgh is celebrating a £500,000 win on The National Lottery, after initially believing it had just been a crazy dream in the middle of the night.

Raymond Young, 63, who recently retired from his job working for British Gas, had initially checked his Thunderball ticket while half asleep, half realising but not fully taking in that he had a winning ticket from the draw on 23 March 2024.

Fully awake the next morning, he assumed it had all been a dream until he checked his ticket again to find that he had, in fact, won the top prize of £500,000.

Since his ‘dream-come-true’ win, Raymond, who has used the same Thunderball numbers since the draw first launched almost 25 years ago, has splashed out on a new car and a caravan, and is now taking some time to decide how to enjoy the rest of his win.

Raymond said: “I had woken up in the middle of the night and randomly decided to check my numbers, which led me to see that I had won the top prize. I must have still been half asleep though as, in the morning, I genuinely thought it was all a dream.

“So, when I decided to have another check in the morning, this time fully awake, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that I was still a winner!

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“I’ve treated myself to a new car, as I was already shopping around for one, so this just made it all the easier to buy what I wanted.

“I’ve also bought a static caravan, something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time but have never been able to. I’ve chosen a beautiful spot on the coast so I can’t wait to start going there with my family and friends.”

Following his win, the first stop on Raymond’s list to celebrate his success was a trip to his childhood favourite holiday spot, Blackpool.

Retiree Raymond has been visiting the seaside resort for most of his life, having first gone there as a youngster with his parents and, most recently, to visit some friends who run a B&B.

Raymond continued, “For me, Blackpool has and will always be a home from home. It holds such special memories and I just love visiting a few times a year.

“I’ve been going there my whole life, from playing on the beach as a kid to staying with friends over the last decade, so it just had to be the place I chose to celebrate my win!”