A MULTI-MILLIONARIE who won a fortune in the lottery was set for his life to change – but he’s still laying drains in the cold for work.
James Clarkson from Carlisle, Cumbria, found out he’d won £7.5million, and was planning to quit work before someone had other ideas.
James, who works as a trainee gas engineer, was back out in the cold fixing drains the day after he secured his millions.
But the 20-year-old won’t be retiring as his dad won’t let him quit working.
James is still driving around in his work van instead of his dream car.
The millionaire said: “I was out in the cold fixing blocked drains the day after I found out I had won.
“It was a bit grim but that’s reality.
“I’m not going to stop working, I’m too young.
“I want to qualify as a heating engineer and then go from there.
“I need to have a purpose in life, plus dad wouldn’t let me not work anyway.
“He says there are plenty of millionaires out there that still work and you need a reason to get up each day.”
James stressed that he has plans for what to spend his fortune on, which mainly includes holidays and designer clothes.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”From reviving ‘dead’ pets to Ibiza benders and living in a caravan – how Lotto winners who scooped £194m splashed cash” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6364663611112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]One of his first purchases was an all-inclusive luxury break to Cape Verde.
He also nabbed a few designer items including a Gucci bag for his girlfriend and two new jackets for himself, so at least he can look stylish on the job.
The young millionaire also has plans to help his extended family and pay off his parents’ mortgage.
He said: “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, it’s what I want to do. I told them last night and they seemed really overwhelmed.
“We are close and they have always been there for me. This win isn’t just for me, I want to make sure we all benefit.”
He’ll also bag a season ticket for his favourite football team – Manchester City.
James recognises how lucky he is to be able to buy the car and is set to stay humble.
He continued: “If you drive a cold work van all day, going from job to job, you’d understand.
“The comfort, the steering, the heated seats.
“I realise how jammy that sounds, not many people my age can afford the car insurance let alone a car like that to drive.”
James played on the National Lottery app, choosing his winning numbers – 16, 19, 22, 24, 27 and 35 – at random.
This choice left the young man with a respectable £7,533,329.
LOTTO STORIES
Elsewhere in the country, The Sun has exclusively reported on a map that reveals unclaimed UK lottery prizes.
A surprising number of winners never cash in their ticket – which means millions of pounds go unclaimed every year.
There are currently nine lottery prizes up for grabs, which are worth a combined £9,064,694.
One lorry driver even quit his job just minutes after he found out he had won £330,000 in a lottery draw last February.
And another young man like James has revealed how winning the lottery changed his life, and not necessarily for the better.
Jayden Clark, who is originally from Australia, revealed their life was relatively normal before winning, he grew up with two siblings and his mum and dad, who lived paycheck to paycheck.
“We had a home that I remember like at this stage, my parents were like fighting to keep and very much paycheck to paycheck lifestyle,” he said.
But his dad had been using the same lottery numbers for five years, and overnight they became multi-millionaires.
He said his parents became paranoid and were fearful the children would be kidnapped as a ransom for their lotto winnings.
The kids took two weeks off school after the win while their parents figured out how to live their new lives.
While the money was an obvious bonus, Jayden said it made the family feel like they were living a double life and didn’t fit in anywhere.