The North-East's newest National Lottery millionaire almost spurned the chance to buy the winning ticket but changed his mind and "made one of the best decisions of my life", he said yesterday.

Robotics engineer John Ellis, 48, was almost put off by a long queue to buy a ticket for last Saturday's draw at his local Morrisons supermarket in Redcar, east Cleveland.

But when he saw it was raining outside, he decided to go back to the queue and bought the lucky dip ticket, which saw him and 45-year-old wife Sue scoop £2,069,730.

At a news conference in Albert Park, Middlesbrough, yesterday, he said: "The queue was right out of the door and I thought 'forget it, I'll get one when I get home' but then I realised it was raining and I thought I'd wait in the queue.

"This ended up being one of the best decisions of my life. We must be blessed."

The couple went for a walk on the beach to take in their win before heading to their local pub for a calming drink.

Mr Ellis, who works for a firm in Stockton, will consider giving up the job he loves to study horticulture at college.

He has already taken a £30,000 Saab 93 convertible for a test drive and the couple are planning a silver wedding anniversary trip to the Seychelles.

Mr Ellis, originally from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, moved to the North-East last year because of his job. The couple have two sons, one of whom lives with them, while the other is in Somerset.

Mrs Ellis, a staff nurse, said she wanted to do the "normal things" first, such as paying off their mortgage and credit cards.

As the Lottery approaches its tenth anniversary next month, local winners Mark and Cheryl Brudenell, who won £917,000 in 1997, were invited to the celebration yesterday.

The couple, from Stockton, have set up a successful double-glazing business and have travelled to the Caribbean and the Maldives among other luxury destinations.

Mrs Brudenell said: "Our advice is to have fun and enjoy it.

"But I still haven't achieved my ambition of meeting Robbie Williams yet, so money can't buy you everything. But dreams do come true."

* Mr Ellis was one of three winners of the £6.2m October 16 jackpot, with the numbers 25, 32, 33, 36, 45 and 46.