A KEEN angler reeled in the catch of his life after buying his copy of the Oxford Mail last week.

Ron Cook, from Wallingford, popped into his local newsagent’s and thought he would check his lottery ticket from the previous night.

Little did the 77-year-old know, but he had matched five numbers and the bonus ball in the draw on Wednesday, October 20, winning a life-changing £245,142.

Mr Cook said: “I go and buy the Oxford Mail at 6.50am every morning and at first I thought I had got four numbers.

“It was only when Ashley, the manager at my local newsagent, KP Stationers, checked the numbers, that we both realised I had won a bit more than I first thought.”

Mr Cook, a retired printer who spent 29 years working for Oxford University Press, lives with his brother Peter, 64.

He has lived in the same house for 75 years, after moving there with his parents and seven siblings in 1935.

He said: “It really hasn’t sunk in yet, but it will. Just to not have to worry about bills is fantastic.

“The best part of the win is knowing that Peter is set up for life.

“He’s my youngest brother and things have not always been easy for him, but I promised my parents I would look after him, and now I really can.”

Mr Cook has been buying lucky dip tickets for the lottery every week for 10 years, but said this was his first big win.

He plans to spend the money flying his niece and her husband over from Canada to visit his sister, Joan.

He said: “Joan is in her 80s now so she can’t travel over to Canada any more to see her daughter, Delia. So I will be bringing them to her.

“And I think I might go over there myself, as they have fantastic fishing.”

Mr Cook will not, however, be spending the money on new angling equipment.

He said: “I love my fishing and try to get out every Saturday and Tuesday but I don’t think I’ll get any new gear.

“I’m just not convinced that the expensive gear makes you a better fisherman.”

Ashley Kempson, the manager at KP Stationers, said: “This couldn’t happen to a nicer man. Ron is in here every morning and we always have a bit of banter.

“He thought he had won £92, but when we found out how much it actually was, I took him into the back room. We made him a cup of tea and broke the news. He just grabbed my arm and was shaking.”

He added: “It’s just lovely that he has won a nice amount of money that he and his brother will be able to live off for the rest of their lives, without it becoming a burden.”

  • Mr Cook’s winning numbers were 14, 30, 31, 36, 44, 47 and the bonus ball was 26.