Darling, I forgot your birthday (but I did win £2 million)

Paddy Millar won nearly £2m in the EuroMillions draw by getting wife Gail's age wrong (PA)

It is not an advisable move, but one man has nearly two million reasons to be thankful for forgetting his wife's birthday.

Nurse Paddy Millar has scooped £1,994,000 in the EuroMillions draw by getting wife Gail's age wrong.

The 50-year-old from Ballymena, Co Antrim, used family anniversaries and birthdays to pick his lucky numbers but put down 48 for Mrs Millar, instead of 49.

When 48 came up in the draw that netted them a fortune his wife certainly was not complaining. "It's the best mistake I've made in my life", said Mr Millar. "And Gail's forgiven me – particularly since I made her younger."

The couple, who are both nurses, and their daughters Alex, 17, and Julia, 11, are to celebrate with a holiday. But their four-day break is a short drive across the Irish border, planned well before they entered the millionaires' club.