A MILLIONAIRE whose fortune hatched from a lottery ticket has admitted to still buying her twice-weekly dose of lucky dips.

Drama enthusiast Pam Aird struck gold three weeks ago when she exchanged £2.50 for a winning EuroMillions ticket - and has continued her ‘in it to win it’ attitude ever since.

The 58-year-old, who grew up in Abingdon but now lives in Botley, said: “It’s habit. I always buy lucky dips and this just proves you can win. I used to work in a bookies so I know about odds.”

Ms Aird said she has bought a lucky dip ticket for ‘every draw’ since Euromillions started in 2004 and joked that she had ‘probably paid that much’ to match her £1m winnings.

On October 25 her persistence paid off after matching a Millionaire Maker code, gifting her with a sum that she said she ‘can’t get over.’

Ms Aird, who will share her winnings with partner Alick Alder, said: “I couldn’t believe it, I was in total and utter disbelief.

“I can’t get over the fact I can buy a house and have a mortgage. I have problems coming to terms with it.”

Ms Aird tucked her ticket inside a book about Ant and Dec ‘to protect it’ while she slept that night, before confirming her win the next morning.

The former legal secretary has not worked since suffering a heart attack last year, and was struggling to pay off debts while she awaits heart surgery.

She said: “To go forward I needed to go backwards to sort things out. I can actually sleep at night now, I have a clear conscience. It’s a chance for me to start again.”

She said she does not have plans to go back to work but hopes to volunteer for charity, adding: “I don’t just want to sit and vegetate.”

Ms Aird’s late father George Aird was once Mayor of Abingdon and her mum Joan Aird died in May, which she said was ‘difficult’ for her and her two sisters, who were ‘totally gobsmacked’ by her win.

The keen amateur actor, who won Abingdon’s Got Talent in 2012, has pledged to buy better lighting for the Unicorn Theatre in Abingdon and microphone heads for the Didcot Phoenix Theatre and Synergy Group where she is a member.

She said: “These places mean a lot to me. I always call the Unicorn the secret part of Abingdon. It’s just beautiful, I absolutely love it. It really does need new lighting to bring it into the 21st century.”

Ms Aird hopes to move back to Abingdon and buy a house next to the river.