Plumber to keep job despite winning £14m with wife on Lotto ‘Lucky Dip’ ticket

The couple hid the winning ticket at home while they went on holiday for two weeks

Alison and John Doherty with their lottery cheque and the lantern they hid the winning ticket inside when they went on holiday (PA)

The husband of a couple who won over £14m on the National Lottery has said he is not planning on giving up his work as a plumber, despite the family’s newfound wealth.

Alison and John Doherty, from Elderslie in Renfrewshire, realised they had won £14,671,343 in the Lotto draw on Saturday 2 July but waited for two weeks to have their ticked validated while they went on a pre-booked holiday to Florida to celebrate their 25^th wedding anniversary.

Mrs Doherty, 50, said: "My iPad was lying on the table so I decided I better check my ticket. When the first three numbers matched I actually thought 'Oh good I've won £25'. Then the fourth number matched, and the fifth.

"When I realised I had all six numbers, I couldn't believe it. I was screaming, lying on the floor, shaking like a leaf - just in complete shock."

Mr Doherty, who runs his own plumbing business, received a call from his wife telling him to come home from work.

She then called her husband, 52, who has his own plumbing business, to come home from work and she broke the good news.

"He made me get on the phone to Camelot straight away. Waiting for the winner adviser to call me back was the longest hour of my life. When they did I was screaming again when the phone rang,” she said.

The couple hid their winning ticket inside a hurricane lantern holder in their bedroom until they got home again, while Mrs Doherty took a photocopy of the ticket and hit it in the box where her husband keeps his work boots. “I wasn’t taking any chances,” she said.

Both Mr and Mrs Doherty are Formula 1 fans and are hoping to treat themselves to a trip to the Grand Prix. They are also planning on buying a house, while their 20-year-old son is after a new. Their 11-year-old daughter has said she simply wants a goldfish.

But Mr Doherty’s customer will still be able to call on his services, as he said he has no intention of giving up his job.

“I enjoy my work. I’ve don’t it for 33 years and I’ve got a lot of customers that I’m loyal to. I was out working yesterday and I’ll be out working tomorrow. It’s quite hard to give up,” he said.

Additional reporting by Press Association