Chef worked on Christmas Day despite £1m lottery win

A pub chef who worked on Christmas Day despite winning £1m on a scratchcard four days earlier has said he felt he needed to finish his shifts.

Latvian national Didzis Pirags, 36, won the cash while playing online during his lunch break at the Phantom Winger pub in Broughton, Preston, on Saturday.

He had been working 60 hours a week at the pub but said he now wanted to spend more time with his son.

He said the win was "the best dream come true ever at Christmas time".

Mr Pirags, who moved to the UK nine years ago, said he had been spending his lunch break with his son, who lives with him in a flat above the pub, when he started playing an online National Lottery game.

"The first thing I scratched off said £1m - the nanny was there and I said 'could you look at it please, I can't believe it, is that £1m?'," he said.

"I literally ran downstairs and said to my boss 'look, look it's £1m, isn't it?'

"She said 'yeah, it is £1m' and I rang the number and they confirmed it."

He said he had decided to work over Christmas, despite the win, adding: "I still need to finish my shifts."

He has since bought a four-bedroom house with his winnings and treated his son to some headphones as an extra Christmas present, but said he wanted to let the win "soak in" before spending more.

"All I want is to be able to provide the best possible life for my son and this win will enable me to do exactly this," he said.