The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
A Tayport man is celebrating a £655,000 win on EuroMillions.
Lotto dream comes true
A Tayport man has said “dreams can come true” after winning £655,000 in the EuroMillions lottery draw.
Jim Forbes, 50, and his wife Pam celebrated their windfall in Broughty Ferry yesterday.
The HGV driver purchased his ticket from Dundee’s Tesco Kingsway store and initially thought he had won “a couple of hundred pounds”.
When he realised he held a winning ticket, the dad-of-two had to be calmed down by lottery call centre staff before driving home and telling his family through tears of joy.
Mr Forbes said: “I was in sheer shock. “I was sitting in the car and was thinking I need to get home, how the hell am I going to get home?
“The Camelot adviser said I need to validate the ticket and had to sign it.
“I looked around in the car and found no pen, so walked into the shop and must have been pure white because I had people looking at me.
“It felt like two days waiting for Pam to come in. She came in and saw me all stern faced in tears. Her automatic reaction was to ask: ‘Who has died?’
“I told her I’ve good news for a change, I’ve won the lottery. She couldn’t take it in.”
Mr Forbes continued: “I’m just a Joe Bloggs but it shows normal people can win.
“You can dream, but you don’t think it’s actually going to happen to you.
“Dreams can come true. You need to be in it to win it.”
Mr and Mrs Forbes, who have two children, are now planning a trip to Hawaii.
Mr Forbes matched five numbers and a Lucky Star in the EuroMillions draw on September 22.
Despite his big win, Mr Forbes revealed he intends to continue working.
He said: “I spoke to my boss and was wanting to go part-time. But, after having a chat with them, it’s not going to be feasible to work part-time with them.
“So, I’ve unfortunately had to hand my notice in. But I’m going to look for something else.
“I’m a worker, I’ve worked all my days, I can’t just sit down and do nothing.
“The money is life-enhancing. It won’t change me.”
Mr Forbes’ daughter Chloe, 16, said: “It’s not sunk in, it doesn’t feel real to me yet.
“Even now I’m just like this is not real, nothing has happened.”
I’m just a Joe Bloggs but it shows normal people can win. JIM FORBES