One pensioner from Hampshire is £1m richer today after Ernie, the Premium Bond number generator, churned through billions of numbers picking December's jackpot-winning number in the lucky county.
The winner, whose identity is being kept a secret, was told last night in person by Agent Million, the mystery person who pays a personal visit to the winner to give them the good news.
The winner, a female pensioner, said last night: "This is such wonderful news, like Christmas come early. I invested in Premium Bonds hoping to win small prizes often, I never thought I'd actually win the jackpot.
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the win yet. I might treat my family to an extra special Christmas and have a good think about how to use the money."
This is Hampshire's fourth £1m jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994 and the 129th Premium Bond millionaire overall.
This month's winning jackpot number was bought in January, 2002 and the winner holds £24,100 in bonds.
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