A retirement home manager from Helston will tick off dream destinations from her holiday bucket list thanks to a Lotto win of nearly £170,000, with a fairytale Christmas time trip to the Big Apple top of the list.

Cynthia Holman, 62, who loves to travel, is mum to Laura, 42 and Mary, 29, and is planning to treat her daughters, ten-year-old granddaughter and Mary’s partner Mark to luxurious trips abroad with the £169,826 she won by matching five numbers and the bonus ball in the Lotto draw on Saturday, June 20.

Cynthia is a keen Italian student, and will soon take Laura and her granddaughter to Sorrento, to test out the Italian she has learned in night classes. Then, when Mary turns 30 in December, the family will all jet off to New York to celebrate in style.

Cynthia, who bought her Lucky Dip ticket in her local Tesco in Helston, can’t believe her luck, and said: “I last went on holiday to Tunisia three years ago and didn’t think we could afford to go anywhere this year. I’ve wanted to travel again for so long and can’t wait to treat the family. New York and Sorrento have always been on my wish list of places to go, and taking the whole family to the Big Apple just before Christmas will be absolutely magical. We can’t wait.

“I will also pay off my mortgage with my win and the money will enable me to retire if I want to, which I don’t.”

Cynthia has worked for Anchor Trust for 25 years, and at their The Clies development in her hometown of Helston since it opened 17 years ago. She has already started celebrations with residents and colleagues by taking in a batch of doughnuts and they all couldn’t be happier for her.

Cynthia has played Lucky Dip numbers since the Lottery started and initially thought her win was much smaller than it was.

She said: “I had a few previous tickets in my purse, so thought I would check them when I went to get my porridge at the local Co-Op store. When the cashier explained she couldn’t pay out, it began to dawn on me that I must have won more than £500.

“I tried to work it out and thought I had won £3,300 – one of my tenants who plays the lottery thought it was about that too, but when I rang Camelot from work they told me that unfortunately it wasn’t a £3,300 win….rather a win to the tune of nearly £170,000.

“I couldn’t believe it and disappeared into my office to call my daughter, Laura. She just couldn’t believe it either. None of us can. It’s just amazing and will make life easier for us all.”