'Dad's death led us to a £1m lottery win'

The couple plan to marry in style and adjust work-life balance after the huge win

"We all miss my dad so much, and that's why I have numbers relating to him that I enter into Lotto draws," says Darren McGuire as he explains how his £1m lottery win is really credited to his late father.

The life-changing windfall came about after the 46-year-old from Bolton selected the winning numbers based on his dad's birthday and the date of his death.

The gas engineer said he would use the money to "adjust my work-life balance" and he and his partner of nearly 20 years, Laura Thwaites, would finally get around to tying the knot in "real style".

He said: "[Dad's] date of birth (22.03.48) and the date of his passing (21.09.11) made us millionaires – thank you Dad."

But he said that was not the only thing that "seemed somehow to point towards us winning".

"The very morning of the draw, two rose bushes in our garden that have done absolutely nothing for over four years, suddenly bloomed to produce a perfect red rose," he said.

"To me, it was a sign from Dad that this was the day - and it certainly was. It's mad."

Darren McGuire says a blooming rose was a sign from his dad

Speaking about the forthcoming wedding plans, Mr McGuire said: "We've been together for 20 years and were going to get married years ago, then Laura fell pregnant and then we moved house.

"I also regularly work seven days a week as a gas engineer for a housing association – a job I love – so with all that we never got around to tying the knot."

He added: "With this win under our belts I may look to adjust my work-life balance a bit and we might well have the time and the money to get married in real style sometime soon."

Ms Thwaites said: "Family is the most important thing, as it was to Darren's late dad, and having Darren at home with us more of the time will be special – that's what winning will do for us."

The couple, who have two children, insisted they were just normal people and not in any way "flash" but they plan to build an extension to their home and convert the cellar into a bar and party room.

Ms Thwaites added: "As for the kids, now that the win has sunk in for them too, one has asked for a PlayStation 5 and the other fancies going on a shopping spree for clothes and trainers…. we'll see what we can do."

The family won the Lotto game on 23 July with five out of six of the winning numbers, which were 03, 09, 11, 16, 21, 48 and the Bonus Ball was 22.