Australian man finds A$1m lottery ticket a year on Published duration 27 February 2017

image copyright Thinkstock image caption The man found his winning ticket in a shopping bag

An Australian grandfather has become a millionaire after cashing in a year-old lottery ticket he found while cleaning his car.

The man, who has remained anonymous, bought the ticket in January last year.

After finding the docket in a shopping bag this month, he checked his numbers online and realised he had won a A$1,020,496 (£630,000; $780,000) prize.

"I'm glad I didn't just get the old bags and take them to the dump," he said in a statement.

The winner, from the New South Wales (NSW) city of Newcastle, said he had been "a bit stupid" by forgetting about his ticket for 414 days.

"I'm not worried that I could have had the money a year ago. At least I've got it now," he said.

The man plans to spend the money on his children's house repayments, and on education for his grandchildren.

Cheryl Tuckerman, who owns the newsagents where the ticket was sold, said she was relieved.

"You wouldn't believe how many customers we've had coming in during the past year asking whether the winner had been found," she said.