Two friends who met playing darts nearly 40 years ago are celebrating winning £1.2 million in the National Lottery.
Henry Milne, 60, and Joe McKay, 63, from Greenock, have been regular darts players since meeting in 1975, and the pair started a lottery syndicate.
Now they are deciding how to spend their winnings after six of their lucky dip numbers came up in the draw on March 16.
Mr Milne, a father-of-three, said he was so shocked by the win he could not drive to his friend’s house to share the news.
“It was my turn to put the lines on this particular week and, knowing that I like the occasional play, my wife Margaret put on five lines for us instead of our usual two.
“It wasn’t until Tuesday night that I remembered I hadn’t checked the ticket, so I went online and there it was: all six numbers. I just went into shock.
“Margaret came in and checked them again and said I better get up to see Joe because his phone was ringing out. There was no way I could drive in that state, so my two daughters bundled me into my car and walked me straight into Joe’s living room.
“Joe didn’t believe me until the girls showed him the ticket and cross-referenced it with my phone. It’s just such an amazing thing to have happen to us, especially as we’re nearing retirement age. We’re just two regular guys who like a pint in the pub. We would never have predicted this happening, not in a million years.”
Mr McKay, who has four children, said the timing of the win “couldn’t be any better”.
He said: “I have worked in the building trade my whole life and it’s only recently that I have found myself unemployed because there’s just nothing out there at the moment. But now I feel as though I can relax a little knowing that I have some money tucked away to see me and partner Margaret through.”
Asked what their first purchases would be, Mr McKay said he would like to upgrade his car and Mr Milne although he will continue working as a heavy goods driver will be having a “well-deserved holiday” with his wife.
The ticket was bought from Cowden’s Newsagent in Lynedoch Street, Greenock and the winning numbers were 1, 11, 12, 27, 48, 49 with the bonus ball 19.