I won £26million in lottery but I kept it secret from my family using bizarre tactic… here’s why

A MAN who won a life-changing £26million lottery jackpot kept the windfall hidden from his family – and people were shocked when they heard the reason.

The lucky dad, of Nanning, China, collected his winnings dressed as a mysterious yellow cartoon character to protect his anonymity.

Guangxi Welfare Lottery Center

‘Mr Li’ said he was over the moon after discovering he had bagged himself the eye-watering sum – but wasn’t going to tell his wife or child.

He spoke to Nanning Evening News and said: “I didn’t tell my wife and child for fear that they would be too complacent and would not work, or work hard in the future.”

Mr Li had bought 40 tickets for the draw in a store in Litang – a town east of Nanning.

Each ticket he bought had the same seven numbers and the lottery company paid out 5.48million yuan for each ticket.

After realising he held the winning numbers – 2, 15, 19, 26, 27, 29, and 2 – Mr Li jumped on a train and headed straight into the city to collect his win of 219million yuan (£26million).

He stayed in a hotel over the weekend before claiming his prize in November last year.

“I did not leave the hotel because I was afraid to go out and lose the lottery ticket,” he said.

After collecting 171.6million yuan after tax (£20.4million), the dad said he chose to donate 5million yuan (£600,000) to charity.

Mr Li said he had been playing the lottery for more than 10 years and had only ever won small.

He said his previous strategy was to choose a new set of numbers each time – but he decided to stick to a favoured set of numbers a few years ago.

Lottery winners in China are taxed on their payouts.

Another lottery winner told how she kept her huge fortune a secret from her husband for eight years before he found out after seeing a text on her phone.

The anonymous Redditor said she chose not to reveal her jackpot to her spouse as he had a tendency to squander cash quickly.

She scooped over £480,000 on the lotto back in August 2014, just two months before she wed her childhood sweetheart Mike.

But instead of being thrilled with her newfound wealth, the woman “panicked” and feared their lives would “turn upside down”.

The ticket holder then realised as she was still “legally single” she could accept the prize without the need to tell anyone else.

She successfully managed to keep her win a secret from her husband, friends and family and decided to invest her jackpot wisely.

The woman’s sensible money moves paid off, as her bank balance shot up to £1million thanks to a savvy investment in an energy company.

But her oblivious hubby ended up rumbling her huge eight-year secret after noticing a victorious text message on the woman’s phone from her financial advisor.

Another woman told how her mum won a whopping £2.2million in the lottery – and managed to keep it a secret from everyone.

But despite sounding like a dream come true, bagging the Lotto jackpot “also left a trail of damage” in its wake.