Hi °C | Lo °C A Londonderry couple are today celebrating after scooping £130,000 on the National Lottery, just in time for Christmas.
Sean Cruickshank and his partner Denise Carlin are planning to spend a festive holiday in the sunshine of Mauritius as well as buy their own home.
The 37-year-old long distance lorry driver from Lisneal in the Waterside says he has had enough of renting but had already booked the dream holiday before he struck it rich on last weekend's Lotto draw.
His five nominated numbers landed him the bumper Hotpicks prize.
It was Sean's fourth Hotpicks win following a hat trick of £450 prizes for picking three correct numbers.
He says : "This win is perfect. It's not too much, it's certainly not too little and the £130,000 will make all the difference."
Describing the moment when they had found out about their big win, he added: " I was making a cup of coffee and I said to Denise 'did you check the numbers?'
"She said 'no I didn't' so I went into the room and all the numbers were there.
"I had my thumb over the last one and I was shouting and roaring for her to come in.
"The last number was 46 and I moved my thumb back a wee bit and the first number was a four and the second was a six!"
The North West has become a hotbed for lottery wins in recent times.
In July, Derry man Denis Doherty, from the city's Waterside, won a £1.6m share of the Lotto jackpot, while last year County Derry made headlines by boasting the luckiest shop in Northern Ireland.
McCloskey's newsagents in Dungiven has sold two jackpot- winning tickets.
Local woman Ann Logan won almost £500,000 and, before that, Limavady van driver Stephen Boyd bought a ticket there that netted him a windfall of almost £1.5m.
