Lowestoft: Third Millionaire Lottery Winner in Suffolk

10 December 2013, 14:52 | Updated: 10 December 2013, 16:01

A man from Lowestoft has become the third person in Suffolk to win big on the lottery in the last six months.

Jamie Grieve, who's 24 and lives with his parents in Lowestoft, went out with his girlfriend Chez to pick up some TV snacks and despite rarely buying them, decided he would get a Merry Millionaire Scratchcard.

He got home and started to reveal the prize on his Scratchcard. He said: “I only play Scratchcards occasionally but when I do, I always reveal the prize right to left, so I can see the zeroes being revealed first. On this one, the first character I saw was an ‘L’, and then another which I thought was really weird, I even said to my girlfriend that there must be something wrong with the Scratchcard. Then I revealed the full message of £1MILL, and all hell broke loose!”

Grabbing his girlfriend, Jamie shouted, ‘I’ve won a million pounds’ before running into the lounge to make the same announcement to his mum and dad who were watching TV. Jamie’s mum checked the ticket and confirmed the win before passing it to his dad. A notorious joker, Jamie’s Dad’s face dropped and Jamie was mortified to hear him say it was a fake.

Jamie said: “I couldn’t believe it, I was so sure and there was my dad saying he was going to rip it up. I nearly burst into tears until he said he was only winding me up. I’m not sure what was more shocking, instant millionaire status or my dad’s quick-witted wind up!”

It comes after a couple from Ipswich won £6 million back in June and Lowestoft baker Jean Swatman from Lowestoft got £2 million.

When it was confirmed that Jamie was Lowestoft’s newest millionaire, he shared the news with his closest friends and family who were all as shocked.

He said: “Sharing the news with our best mates, another couple, was awesome. Chez and I popped round to tell them the news in person and because we were both a bit tearful they thought something awful had happened until I explained they were tears of joy and I’d won £1 million. We were all leaping about, screaming with excitement.”

Once news was out, Jamie wasted no time in making his first purchase – a Ford Focus RS, for delivery into the local car dealership where he works. And then, despite the rollercoaster of emotions and excitement, he was back in work on Monday morning as usual and has since been busy mucking in, helping the garage clear up after it was hit by Lowestoft’s storm-surge.

With money in the bank, the Merry Millionaire has already started treating those nearest and dearest. Girlfriend Chez will be getting a new car while mum has already been taken to the car dealership and picked out hers.

Close friends will also be treated with the couple’s best friends joining them on a tropical holiday care of Jamie. And overseas travel is also planned for Jamie’s mum and dad.

And while Jamie is being generous to those around him, he isn’t forgetting himself. A passionate car enthusiast, as a child he followed in his father’s footsteps racing karts at Ellough Race Track in Beccles. Lack of funds meant that this expensive hobby was side-lined but with money in the bank, Jamie is going to get back behind the wheel in a big way with dad as team manager and mechanic.

And with his adrenalin junkie side addressed through karts and his dream car, the rest will be put towards an investment property or two, with a view to building up a portfolio so in a few years’ time, he and Chez can move into their own dream home, mortgage-free and with investments behind them.

Jamie said: “It’s great to be Father Christmas for a bit and to know I can fulfil my dream to start karting again but I’m not taking this for granted. Although I’ve always been in work, watching the pennies has been a permanent situation and I’ve constantly been juggling the bills to stay afloat. Only a couple of weeks ago I was chatting with one of my closest friends about our dreams and we both decided that £100,000 would set us up for life and alleviate that pressure. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would win ten times that amount!"