I won £1million on the Lottery – I bought land on the MOON but I still live frugally, eat beans & even went back to work
A LOTTERY winner who bagged a million quid has told how he used his winnings to buy land on the MOON.
David Copeland, 41, won the whopping sum in 2000 but still lives a frugal life, eating baked beans for dinner at his home in rural Hertfordshire.
And The Sun Online can reveal how the former lab technician has even gone back to work – dipping into his fortune to train as a driving instructor.
Instead of living the jet-set life, David is now driving high society as a £22-an-hour chauffeur-for-hire.
He told Sun: “Winning the lottery just gave me freedom to choose what to do. I’m not full-time chauffeuring in.
“I’ve just been very sensible, as you can tell.”
Prudent David, who upgraded his 1960s two-bed to a semi-detached four-bed for £192,500, is not a typical Lotto big spender.
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After scooping the jackpot, he bought supermarket Champagne to celebrate with pals – before then paying out £120 to buy an acre of land on the Moon, Venus and Mars.
The lifelong Concorde fan also splashed out on two flights on the supersonic plane before it had to be grounded in 2003.
Other extravagances since his 1999 New Year’s Eve win include trips to see his favourite singer – cabaret star Jane McDonald, and a once-a-year cruise.
David previously described himself as “not by nature a big spending person”.
He said in 2006: “ My money has all been carefully invested, and I spend the same that I did each week when I was a lab technician – old habits die hard.
“The last thing I bought was actually a tin of baked beans.”
Unlike lottery winners who have quit work, David spent eight years as a police driving instructor before becoming a chauffeur.
David tells customers on his Herefordshire Chauffeur website: “Let me do the hard work for you. Take the stress out of driving and allow me to drive you effortlessly to wherever you need to be.
“It could be picking up important business individual/clients from an airport to your place of work for a meeting, or, perhaps you are a busy CEO who needs a regular driver to drive you to business meetings around the UK.”
Describing himself as “a modern day equivalent of the traditional coachman”, he adds:
“For those who do not know me, my name is David Copeland.
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“Having spent the last 15 years in driver training, I have driven thousands of miles and taught hundreds of Police students.
“For the last few years I have been available as a freelance private chauffeur.”