A MAN who scooped a whopping £108million in the lottery has revealed his proudest achievement to date.
Neil Trotter says it had nothing to do with private jets or luxury holidays – but creating something special on the 500-acre estate he bought.
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The former mechanic, 50, landed the big EuroMillions win in 2014 after buying a Lucky Dip.
And he quickly went on to buy something at the “top of his wish list”.
He and partner Nicky Ottaway, 42, decided to trade their three-bedroom pad for a mansion that sat in the middle of a massive patch of land – with a lake.
The pair then poured wads of cash – and lots of time – into transforming the estate into their forever home.
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Their land now plays host to almost every tree in the British Isles.
Neil said: “It’s a pat on the back after all the hard work to see the wildlife returning to the estate.
“I always dreamt of having my own lake but owning so much land has been a huge challenge and responsibility.
“It has been a challenging nine years but I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and I’m never bored.
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“I have learnt so much about how to manage woods and to reverse the effects of intensive farming.”
But, when they were first looking at it, Nicky wasn’t set on the property.
She said it was “too big”, adding: “The woodlands were in a poor state, there were so many dead trees everywhere and the house was barely liveable, despite its size.”
But Neil put in the hard yards – 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.”
The property now has a whopping six lakes and woodland ponds.
The now 50-year-old also splashed some cash into some toys – taking home a Jaguar and Porsche, too.
But, Neil admitted he could never sit still.
He said: “I may be a millionaire but there is no sitting in armchairs with a pipe and slippers for me.”
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.
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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.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
