Businessman, Stephen Cole, 65, won the Euromillions lottery draw on July 12, when his Lucky Dip ticket matched five main numbers and one Lucky Star.
Lotto executives handed Mr Cole his cheque on Monday [July 22] at the Nevill Golf Course in Tunbridge Wells, where the lucky winner told reporters: “Early on Saturday morning I took my coffee into the study to check my emails and spotted a ‘good news from The National Lottery’ message.
“Logging into my account, I was expecting to see a couple of pounds, instead there was a magnificent £286,532 staring back at me.
“I could pretend I coolly took it all in my stride but in fact, I couldn’t do anything and simply sat there giggling.”
The family man added: “To be honest, following the two years my children and I have lived through, a moment of giggling seems only reasonable.”
Mr Cole said he was involved in a near fatal car accident in 2016, which left him having to learn to walk again.
“As a family we have been through some very tough times in recent years so maybe this little piece of magic is Lady Luck giving us a boost,” explained Mr Cole.
The owner of a successful software development company, Collective Clarity, said the win was ‘fabulous news’.
“I’ve always worked hard growing my businesses so we are comfortable, but the win is still fabulous news and means we will enjoy a few family adventures much sooner than planned.
“Top of the bill is a family holiday to Barbados, something we were working towards for 2020 but now we can do later this year,” he said.
