A LOCAL butcher is celebrating an £80,000 win on a National Lottery scratchcard.

Tristan Lilburn, 28, scratched three matching symbols on his £2 Bejeweled scratchcard on Thursday, September 13, to win the top prize.

The lucky Loddiswell lad bought the ticket from Modbury post office using the last of his change and even had to scratch the symbols off using a battery – the only thing he had left in his pocket.

Aune Valley Meats employee Tristan said: 'While on my lunch break from the Modbury shop I went to buy £90 worth of euros for a coming holiday.

'The bill came to £88, so I spent the remaining two on the scratchcard and had nothing left on me apart from a battery to scratch it off with.

'The symbols came up and I was so shocked – it was just my lucky day.'

His girlfriend Jess Diable was equally as surprised and could not believe what had happened.

She said: 'He rang me up straight away and said, "I think I've won some money".

'When he first told me the amount I thought he said £8,000 and that was brilliant. But when he repeated and told me it was 10 times as much I couldn't believe it.

'The fact he scratched it off with a battery shows how little money he had left and as we're going on holiday to Portugal soon it will top it off really nicely.

'I've no idea what to get him for Christmas though as that money will keep him going for a while.

'I'll have to think of something a bit different.'

Tristan has lots of ideas on how to spend the money but is primarily concentrating on passing his driving test and buying a car.

He said: 'I had driving lessons a few years back but never got to the stage where I could take my test. Now I have the money to do it it's definitely my first priority.

'I haven't actually spent anything yet but when I do I'll take a few trips to Old Trafford to see Manchester United play and hopefully put something towards a property.

'It's so lucky and just one of those things, I was in the right place at the right time.'