£14m Lottery winner promises to make estranged son a millionaire
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A taxi driver who won more than £14m in the National Lottery is promising to make the son he last spoke to six years ago a millionaire if they can be reconciled.
Robert Frazer, 58, from Newcastle upon Tyne, told a press conference that he thought his son, Alan, 35, was now living in Manchester.
"I'd love to see him, he'll be a millionaire," Mr Frazer said. "I think he's got a kid now and a wife, but I haven't a clue whether it's a boy or a girl."
Explaining how he lost touch with his son, he said: "He would come to my house and it was quite all right and then all of a sudden he stopped coming for some reason. We never had a fallout."
Mr Frazer had the eighth largest single win in the National Lottery's history when he won last Saturday's £14,265,140 Lotto Extra jackpot. Mr Frazer, who said he had bought Wednesday and Saturday tickets since the Lottery began, followed his usual routine after his night shift at 6am on Sunday by taking a cold lager from the fridge and checking the numbers on Teletext.
"I felt my eyes glaze over and I kept shaking my head, trying to focus on the Teletext page to double-check I had got it right," Mr Frazer said.
"I then saw only one person had won the jackpot but I still couldn't believe it was me."
He called his wife out of bed and they checked the numbers about 10 times before they were sure of their victory.
Mr Frazer, who earned about £18,000 a year as a taxi driver, plans to move with his wife, Dorothy, 51, to Spain in time for their 20th wedding anniversary in September. He said he had lost touch with Alan while his son was working at Fenwick's department store in Newcastle.
Alan was six when his father's marriage to his first wife, Ann, ended 30 years ago.
Mr Frazer's winning numbers – 13, 19, 22, 29, 38, 41 – were the ones he had used since the National Lottery began.
Mr and Mrs Frazer are to travel to Spain in the next few days to look for a villa near Benidorm. "This really is a dream come true for us," Mr Frazer said. "We have often spoken about what we would do if we won the Lottery and always hoped to move to Spain.
"We thought that if we could just scoop half a million, we could start a wonderful new lifestyle in the sun. This win has made it all possible and so much more," he said.
Mr Frazer, who plans to trade in his cab for a top-of-the-range Mercedes, added: "We can't even begin to get our heads around the amount and what it means to us.''
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments