A MAN who scooped an eye-watering £108m lottery jackpot has revealed the massive win meant he worked harder than he ever had for the next nine years.
Neil Trotter, from Surrey, bagged the whooping prize after buying a EuroMillions Lucky Dip back in 2014.
BPM MediaNeil splashed the cash on a huge mansion[/caption]
BPM MediaHe decided to renovate the huge mansion in an ambitious transformation process[/caption]
Neil decided to splash the cash on a 500-acre estate with its own lake for him and his partner Nicky Ottaway.
The huge mansion, in southern England, was poles apart from the three-bedroom house he used to live in.
The former mechanic, 50, said: “I always dreamt of having my own lake but owning so much land has been a huge challenge and responsibility.”
The millionaire then started an ambitious building process to transform the property into a lavish home.
The house was in need of restoration and the surrounding land needed to be spruced up.
His partner initially “[tried] to talk” Mr Trotter out of buying the property – as she thought the project was “too big”.
“The woodlands were in a poor state, there were so many dead trees everywhere and the house was barely liveable, despite its size,” she said.
However, Mr Trotter worked hard dredging ponds, lakes and removing tonnes of dead trees from woodlands.
He said: “At times it seemed like I had bitten off more than I could chew!”
But Neil went all out and even upgraded the parking space at his luxury mansion to fit a Jaguar and a Porsche.
The lucky man said the years following his win have been challenging because of the ambitious project.
But he now feels proud about his new home.
He said: “It has been a challenging nine years but I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and I’m never bored!
“I have learnt so much about how to manage woods and to reverse the effects of intensive farming.”
The process had a rocky start as the couple had to move out when the west wing flooded during their first winter.
However, the pair claimed the impressive house made the process “worthwhile”.
The Surrey man previously confessed it had been a struggle adjusting to his new life – and the race-car fan took about five years to end up where he dreamed he would be.
He explained he started to get bored of the unemployed life and chose a house that needed a lot of renovation to fill his time.
After completing the project, Neil now enjoys the view of his stunning lake against a 400-acre back-drop.
To top it off, the multi-millionaire can watch his dog Millie also revel in her new surroundings – a cute companion he couldn’t afford to home before his cash windfall.
It comes as a woman who scooped a whopping £2.1million in a lottery jackpot has revealed she cries every time she thinks about how she won.
Libby Elliot, from Aberdeenshire, revealed she used a couple of pounds given by her dad to buy a Lucky Dip a few years ago.