Retired Exeter taxi driver to start open road adventure after £1M lottery win
Steve Glover from Exeter celebrates his £1 million lottery win and describes the moment he found out he had won
A retired taxi driver who scooped a windfall lottery win of £1million has shared his plans for his winnings.
Steve Glover, from Exeter, said he plans to swap Devon for the Highlands of Scotland - a place he fell in love with when he was based there with the RAF.
Mr Glover, 73, plans to buy a motorhome and replace his car as his Land Rover is "on its last legs".
He said: "I don’t have a definite spot in Scotland that I want to call home just yet so I’m buying a motorhome which will be my temporary home.
"I will spend some time travelling around and getting a feel for the place again.
"I’m after a nice little croft with a bit of land and when I see the right place, I will know it’s the one.”
The lucky lottery winner also plans to invest in two barrels of prime Scotch whisky - although he is undecided as to whether this is an investment or something to sip and enjoy himself.
Speaking about his excitement about the future, he said: "Life is short, you have to enjoy every moment and every spare penny, and I’m sure as heck going to enjoy this!"
Mr Glover had bought the tickets for the Lotto draw he won the previous night at McColl's on Pinhoe Road in Whipton and left them on the coffee table the night of the draw.
He only thought to check the tickets later on Saturday, as he watched the darts on TV.
He said: "I checked the Lotto results on my tablet and recognised the numbers instantly as I’ve always played the same numbers.
"I didn’t dare to believe what I was seeing so first I rang my mate and asked him to read out the numbers to me, and then I called my ex-wife who did the same and then said, ‘according to this Steve, you’ve won £1M'.”
The 73-year-old woke up early on Sunday and called the National Lottery line when it opened at 9am.
His win was rapidly confirmed - but he said he did not really believe it until the winnings appeared in his bank account.
He added: "I’ve had my share of bad luck over the years, with two heart attacks and an injury which stopped me working and led to the demise of my business, so when the win was confirmed, I made a cup of tea – my answer to everything – and told myself not to start the celebrations just yet.
"Now the money is there, looks like the celebrations can start, just as soon as my mate is back from Fuerteventura and my ex-wife is back from her holidays in the Caribbean.
"It did occur to me that I could fly out and surprise either one of them but I think I’ll sit tight, with another cup of tea, and wait for their return."
After his life-changing win, Mr Glover bought Delia, the lady who served him in McColl's when he bought the lucky ticket, a bunch of flowers to say thank you.
Mr Glover said: "I always get my National Lottery tickets at the same shop so I had to share my good news with the staff there as well as give a little something to the person who sold me my winning Lotto ticket.
"I guess it’s just the way I’ve been brought up, they were all so happy for me, it was a really nice moment.”
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