09 March 2024 , 17:19
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A 65-year-old Scottish grandad has shared the first thing he will do after winning a huge £400,000 jackpot on the People's Postcode Lottery.
Gerry Dragoonis said he wants to support his family, go for a meal out, and even take a trip to Spain with his winnings - but insisted he is planning to go back to work after a holiday abroad. The dad-of-two and his wife, Christine, want to help their children Marc, and Marie McLeod as well as four grandchildren with the mega prize pot.
But the builder and roofer - who runs a property maintenance firm with brothers Martin, 59, and Michael, 57 - said he is going straight back to work. He said: "I'm shocked. I don't know what else I'll do with it. I never thought I'd get this amount of money.
He doesn't want to give up work after the win (daily record)"Even though I've won this, I'll still have to go to work this afternoon. I've got scaffolding up on a job just now for a roof repair. The customer is away on holiday and is expecting the job to be finished when they get back.
"I don't drink, but we'll go out for a meal to celebrate. We haven't been on holiday for a number of years, maybe just a day here and there. We might go to Spain now."
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Gerry's postcode G75 0DH was the winner of Postcode Lottery's weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday, March 9. The rest of the £1m pot was shared by players in the wider G75 0 area. At first, he was convinced that he'd win a couple of hundred quid at most, reports Glasgow Live.
He added: "I didn't expect this. I thought it would be £200 or £250. I only got about two hours sleep last night thinking about it. It will be nice to be able to help the family. Family comes first at the end of the day. As long as they're ok and healthy. It's nice to give something back."
East Kilbride based charity Achieve More Scotland has also been awarded £50,000 from Postcode Community Trust. The charity delivers free programmes to improve young people's physical and mental health. They run sports, physical activity, employability coaching and personal development sessions throughout schools and communities in areas of high social deprivation in the Glasgow region.
Paul Fletcher, CEO of Achieve More Scotland, said: "Community support and action is at the heart of everything we do and the money we've received from vital funding raised by the players of People's Postcode Lottery will go directly to helping disadvantaged young people throughout Glasgow. To be in a position where we can take the added financial and logistical stress of childcare away from hardworking parents is a responsibility we don't take lightly. It's a huge financial injection we've received today that will massively benefit young people and their parents."