Brian Caswell has won more money in the EuroMillions lottery than the gross domestic product of some Pacific island nations, but he is rejecting the possibility of a playboy lifestyle in favour of solving a more pressing problem at home.

How can he get carrots to grow on his allotment?

Mr Caswell, 74, a retired sales director, told reporters at a press conference in his home town of Bolton, Greater Manchester, that he would not only continue to tend his allotment, but would use part of his £25 million windfall to overcome his difficulties with root vegetables.

“I’ve been trying to grow carrots ever since I’ve had that allotment and I’ve never had any success,” he said during the conference conducted by the television presenter Eamonn Holmes. “What I’m going to do now is bring in a professional.”

Holmes attempted to offer advice about using potatoes to break up the earth, but Mr Caswell insisted that this did not work. But he said that receiving the winning cheque for £24,951,269.40 would see him redouble his efforts.

“This is clearly a hobby I’ve had for many, many years now, and it’s dear to my heart. It’s very friendly up there. You can go up and have a chat. It’s somewhere to go in the morning — work in the morning, play in the afternoon. That’s predominantly what I did. I can’t see that stopping.”

Mr Caswell’s wife, Joan, 72, has similarly modest needs. Asked what her first thoughts were on spending the money, she said: “I thought of things like a chaise longue and a new water feature for the garden.”

Holmes suggested that she could buy a new garden for the water feature.

“That would be a thought,” she said. “It takes time for the idea to sink in.”

The couple said that they would not move far from their modest home in Bolton, but they had thought about buying some stables where the extended family could live together. Mr Caswell suggested that he would also buy a flash car and travel to exotic locations including South America.

Mr Caswell, wearing a pale linen jacket and pink shirt with a vibrant striped tie, said that he would not have selected his winning numbers (6, 14, 16, 34 and 50, with lucky stars 6 and 4) had it not been for his late mother-in-law, who was affectionately known as Florrie.

“I always used to take my mother-in-law, Florrie, shopping on Friday to Morrisons. She always used to buy tickets for herself and her grandchildren... but not me! Unfortunately we lost her last year. She was 96. A great, great, great woman.

“I kept on buying those tickets ever since because of her. It’s her legacy.”

Mrs Caswell said: “I think she’s jumping up and down now.”

Mr Caswell described his moment of discovery at his local newsagent, where his victory salute was captured on CCTV. “I’d gone to the local paper shop. They told me it was a winning ticket, but because I hadn’t taken my glasses I couldn’t see my winning numbers. It was at that moment I thought: ‘I should have gone to Specsavers.’ I didn’t realise the implications.”

He waited for Mrs Caswell to return from a shopping trip and told her to sit down because he had good news. She said that she could not understand the scale of the win. “He’s very difficult. He just said: ‘It’s a lot. I mean mega.’”

They called their daughter to contact Camelot, the lottery operator, Mr Caswell recalled. “I couldn’t do it myself. I sent for my daughter to do it.”

When he first knew he had a winning ticket he thought that the prize would be about £1 million, but it dawned on him that the rollover meant that it would be tens of millions.

Mrs Caswell told how she had enjoyed getting her hair and make-up done for her for the press conference. Mr Caswell, who has a few tufts of white hair, was less excited by the luxury grooming. “I want a transplant,” he said.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• In Margot Fonteyn's footsteps
• Forget beautiful people, let's have wonky Brits
• Fundamentalist brew: faith and power