BARMAID Barbara Forth thought it was a night like any other when she turned up for her shift at the Wheatsheaf pub, but by the time she finished work she was £2m richer.

Barbara, 38, of Penshaw, Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, was pulling pints at the pub, in neighbouring Shiney Row, on Wednesday, when her lucky dip numbers came up on the Lotto.

As she checked her ticket, it dawned on her that she had won, not £10 as she first thought, but £2,076, 385.

After calmly telling her colleague she had won the jackpot, Barbara then rang her husband, Kim, who did not believe her.

She said: "I told him, 'we've won the Lottery'.

"He said, 'you're joking'. I said 'no, bye' . . . and put the phone down."

It was only when he rang back and the landlord confirmed the win, with the numbers 7, 22, 25, 31, 44 and 47, that he raced to the pub to meet Barbara.

There, they shared a few celebratory drinks while landlady Claire Froud and her husband, John, took over at the bar.

The surprise windfall has still not sunk in for the couple and their family. Between them they have eight children, three from Kim's previous relationship.

Kim said the family were all over the moon.

He said: "They're pleased, everybody is. But the little one, who is six, was crying because someone at school called her a millionaire!"

Barbara has not decided yet whether she has pulled her last pint, after six years of serving drinks. She said she enjoys her job and may go back.

For Kim, an ex-miner forced to retire due to ill health, the news came a day after he celebrated his 47th birthday.

He said: "We've had no sleep. Everything is happening so fast."

Barbara is hoping to buy a dream home with the money.

But first the couple are planning a holiday to Tenerife, where they will think about what to do with their windfall.

"I'm off to an island", says double winner

An electrician told yesterday of his plans to retire to an African island after winning the Lotto for the second time with the same numbers.

Mike McDermott, 51, of Gosport, Hampshire, first won £194,501 four months ago by matching five of his numbers and the bonus ball.

Then last Sunday, he checked his numbers on Teletext - and could hardly believe his luck when he found that he had again matched five numbers and the bonus ball, scooping another £121,157.

On both occasions he won with the numbers 15, 16, 18, 36, 49 and 28.

Mr McDermott, who has a son, Dominic, 21, and daughter Danielle, 23, intends to retire with his wife, Helen, to the island of Kerkenah, off Tunisia, where they have bought a house.

Mr McDermott said yesterday: ''I was ecstatic when I discovered I had won in June, but this time I really am in disbelief.

''We really can't believe our incredible luck. We thought that winning twice with the same numbers would be simply impossible but, obviously, it really can happen as it's happened to us."