New knees for lottery win grandparents

Bev and Malcom Dixon won £1m on the lottery in January

Grandparents who scooped £1m on the lottery are planning to spend their winnings on a pair of new knees.

Bev and Malcolm Dixon, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, matched five numbers and the bonus ball in the 29 January Lotto draw.

Top of the shopping list for the couple, who have 13 grandchildren, is new knees for Mrs Dixon, 50.

Mr Dixon, 43, said: "This win couldn't have come at a better time. Bev is in constant pain with her knees.

He added: "Your health is so important. The win will enable us to afford to give her a totally new lease of life."

The pair, who celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday, are also planning to move out of their rented home and buy a house.

'State of shock'

Mr Dixon, who had to give up work as a building engineer due to injury, said he was out walking their two dogs when he remembered to check his lottery tickets.

Initially thinking they had won £1,000, he texted Mrs Dixon, landlady of the Railway Tavern in Leigh, to share the good news - before double-checking the true figure in disbelief.

He said: "I could not believe it. It was only when I went to check for a second time that I saw all of the zeros.

"I was just in a state of shock. I immediately called Bev again and said 'I've got it wrong, we have in fact won £1 million'. She was absolutely over the moon.

"She just thought I was joking and said 'No, that can't be right'. It was a surreal moment and one which I'll never forget."

Mrs Dixon now plans to take early retirement and the pair hope to move closer to their three children and their families.