The North West is logging more than its fair share of Lottery millionaires.

The latest winner, Seamus Duffy from the Greysteel area of Co Londonderry, was the only winner of Saturday's Lotto jackpot and is said to be "over the moon" with the news.

He picked up a winning cheque from Camelot today after he matched six numbers – 2, 6, 27, 28, 40, 49 – to win a jackpot of £4,593,096.

Mr Duffy, from Killywill near Greysteel, and his partner announced their plans on Tuesday at a Press conference in Ballykelly's Drummond Hotel.

Northern Ireland has a history of Lotto success stories and the North West in particular.

The Province's first big winner was Coleraine grandad Willie McConnell, who walked away with £3.8m in August 1995.

Londonderry father-of-one Ryan Magee took home £6.4m from the Euro Millions draw last February after which the 27-year-old IT manager said he had a dream in which he won a jackpot – and immediately went out and spent £157,000 on a brand new Ferrari 430 Spider sports car.

The area also produced one of the Lottery's biggest ever winners – Londonderry-born Peter Mallett, who won £11.7m in 2001, although he did not buy his ticket in the Province.

However, his win was soon eclipsed when Belfast bus driver Peter Lavery scooped a jackpot of £10.2m in May the following year.

The Short Strand man has since raised money for a series of local charities and set up The Rita and Charles Trust in memory of his parents.

In January 1998, Newtownabbey schoolgirl Tracey Mackin made history when she became the game's youngest winner at the mere age of 16.

The UK's biggest single winner, housewife Iris Jeffrey, was also from Northern Ireland.

After winning £20.1m in July 2004, the Belfast woman said she was going to buy a new car for her husband, a luxury holiday to Las Vegas and a washing machine for herself.

In other news, veterans of World War II are to receive further lottery cash to allow them to visit battlefields overseas.

The Big Lottery Fund has already paid for more than 39,000 former military personnel to return to places where they fought more than 60 years ago.

An extra £800,000 will now allow another 1,100 veterans to do the same under the Heroes Return scheme.

(BMcC/KMcA)