Essex plumber ditches wrench after £300K lottery win

A plumber who won £300,000 on a Lottery scratchcard is swapping his wrench for a camera and retraining as a videographer.

Sean Irwin, 36, of Brentwood in Essex, said he bought the ticket on a whim with some spare change.

"I thought I was seeing things, and checked, then triple-checked, I even read the rules on the back of the scratchcard," he said.

His boss agreed it looked like a winner and said Mr Irwin should call Camelot.

"It was a classic moment, there's me and the boss sitting in my little Ford Focus calling Camelot to confirm I'd won £300,000," he said.

He said he wants to make the most of every opportunity after losing his father to cancer this year.

"It's been a really tough couple of years, culminating in my dad losing his battle with cancer this summer, and if I've learnt anything from that it is to make the most of every opportunity, he said.

"This win has opened up so many doors and will give me the security to explore a whole new career, so I'm going to do exactly that."

Mr Irwin moved back in with his parents a couple of years ago.

"The first thing I'm going to do is pay off Dad's funeral costs and buy a really lovely headstone too so that Mum doesn't have that worry looming over her," he said.

"She's been my biggest supporter so it's the best feeling to be able to now support her a bit."

Mr Irwin said he was also hoping to buy a flat before going travelling.

"It's an amazing feeling to know that if I am careful with this money, then the travels I want to do, the career I want to have and the security I need for the long-term can all be achieved, and all thanks to £3 loose change," he added.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]