IT was third line lucky for a Teesside mother and son who scooped more than £7.5m on the lottery.

Doreen Hay and her son, John, matched all six numbers on Saturday’s Lotto rollover draw after the she picked out three lucky dips instead of her usual two.

The 70-year-old retired cleaner, from Thornaby, has already earmarked how she is going to give away £1.5m of her share to charity and family members.

While John, of Billingham, plans to give up his job as a cable layer and is already planning a family holiday to Disneyland.

The pair, who have been playing the lottery since it started, have always shared their winnings, including £13,000 several years ago when they matched five numbers, and it was no different when they scooped the £7,505,717 jackpot.

Explaining why she opted for three lines instead of the usual two, Mrs Hay joked: “You might as well be skint as broke so I got the third line.”

The Northern Echo:

Speaking at a press conference at Rockliffe Hall, near Darlington, the grandmother-of three described how she triple-checked the numbers on Sunday morning before trying to call John to tell him ‘to get over here now’.

Mr Hay, who lives with his partner Susan Robinson, said: “At around 9am I saw a missed call from my mum and slightly panicked as she never calls me at that time.

"I called her back and she said ‘John you’ll have to come over, I think we’ve won the lottery'.”

After not enjoying a family holiday in the six years he has been with his partner, the 38-year-old is planning to go away before looking to buy a house and a sports car.

His mother has no intention of travelling abroad, but she is planning to move out of her upstairs flat.

She said: “I live in a flat, so I’m going to look for a little bungalow and I might buy myself a little poodle to keep me company.”

She already has plans to give some money to charity, including the Butterwick Hospice and Help for Heroes, as well as treating her three grandchildren, seven brothers and sisters and ex-husband John.

When quizzed about her generosity, she joked: “I’ll still have plenty left, it’s not like I’m looking for a toy-boy or anything – well not yet.”