A delivery driver who won £5.2 million on the National Lottery has returned to his former workplace to surprise old colleagues with bouquets of flowers and Lotto lucky dip tickets.
Gary MacDonald, 61, left his job after the life-changing win last year. He had worked for more than three decades delivering parcels to stores across Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, Essex. Since his win, he has married his long-term partner Anita and moved from Barking, east London, to a new four-bedroom detached home in Essex.
“It’s been a crazy 12 months, from discovering I’d won a £5.2m Lotto jackpot and starring in the Lotto TV ad, to getting married and moving house,” he said. “It’s a good job I retired early – being a Lotto millionaire is turning out to be a full-time occupation!”
Donna Samuels, manager of the Babyeze shop at Lakeside, said it was an “incredible surprise” to see Mr MacDonald again. “He absolutely didn’t need to do this, but I’m so touched that he has,” she said. “Then again, Gary sharing the joy is typical of him, just goes to show what a diamond he is.”
Mr MacDonald said he had always taken great pride in his work and valued the connections he built with people at Lakeside. “When I hit the Lotto jackpot, those people who had been such a part of my daily working life were always in my plans,” he added. The only downside, he joked, was that his wife Anita used the opportunity for a shopping spree.
