Town near Glasgow celebrate £!m lottery win

The street pals, of Balloch, Dunbartonshire, whooped through a downpour as they were each presented with a cheque for £66,666.

And one player, Tommy Gilmour, 71, told how his win has come after he cheated death twice in the last 14 months.

In October 2023, doctors had to revive the grandad then put him into an induced coma after minor surgery went wrong.

And last December the retired senior ranger with Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park was seriously injured after he was knocked down by a bus.

Clutching his prize with his left arm still in a sling, Tommy said: “Now this has happened. Wow! Go on, ya dancer. I can’t believe it.

“This is tremendous, we weren’t expecting that amount of money. And it’s nice to win with so many others in the street.”

Tommy celebrated with 14 other neighbours in Balloch after G83 8SY won Postcode Lottery’s weekly £1m Millionaire Street prize on Saturday 15 February. Every ticket was worth £66,666.

Tommy – who shares three children and five grandchildren with wife Maureen, 68 – told how his new fortune will help him look to the future after the string of near-tragedies.

The amateur sailor was left with a fractured knee and shattered left wrist after he was struck by a single decker bus on December 3.

And he revealed a metal-strapped Citizen Eco-Drive Red Arrows watch gifted to him on his 60th birthday by his son bore the brunt of the collision and stopped his arm from being ripped off.

Tommy – who now wears the watch on his other wrist - said: “I had an argument with a bus. I was knocked down. I was crossing a street and nothing was coming in any direction. I crossed over and I was halfway over the double lane on the other side. I just happened to look and a single decker bus was on top of me.

“I flew through the air and landed on a kerb. I did judo when I was younger and I did a break fall. As I was flying through the air, I knew that if I had hit a pole I would have been dead.

“I remember crossing the road, seeing the bus and trying and trying to get back off the road.”

Tommy was hit full-on by the bus leaving the windscreen smashed, but had tried to deflect the blow with his watch arm.

Now the couple are planning to spend their winnings on a new car, holiday and helping their family.

Tommy said: “My BMW out there is an M Sport with gear change. We’ve been talking for a while about getting another car and would like to change it to an automatic.

“There’ll be a wee holiday and…” he looks at his son and laughs: “…maybe something for the family.”

Retired bank customer services worker Maureen added: “I’d like a Greek island or Turkey. Somewhere like that, not anything too far away.”