AN amateur actor won more than £50,000 - while playing the lead role in a play called Tons of Money.

Robin Thompson scooped the cash prize of £52,721.70 after matching all five main numbers in the Euromillions draw on Friday, February 23.

Robin, aged 49, from Sharples, played a butler plotting an underhand scheme to get his hands on the family inheritance.

But it was not until after the final curtain had fallen on the production at Bolton Little Theatre that he realised he had already got his hands on some lottery loot of his own.

He said: "We had been on stage every night during the week, but I found time on the Thursday night to put my numbers on for the Euromillions draw using my National Lottery online account.

"I always pick Lucky Dip numbers and I never know what they are to check them, but the interactive account does it for me."

The winning Euromillions numbers on Friday, February 23, were 2, 15, 18, 20, 22, with Lucky Star numbers 2 and 5.

But Robin, a senior probation officer at HM Prison Whymott in Leyland, did not realise his good fortune until the following Monday.

He said: "After the run, I decided to spend Sunday just chilling out. I didn't go near the computer and went to work as normal on Monday.

"On Monday evening when I was going through my email messages, I came across one from the lottery letting me know that there was good news.

"When I logged on to my account, I initially misread that I had won £52, then I looked again and realised that it was much, much more.

"I remember thinking that I was pleased my hands were so steady, I expected them to be shaking. It was mixture of delight and shock."

He had the five main numbers, but if he had had the two lucky stars as well, he would have won £19 million.

Robin said that following his win, house renovations and upgrading his car to a diesel Volvo S80 are taking centre stage in his plans. He is also hoping to go on the holiday of a lifetime and is looking at potential destinations.

"I had a five-year plan for the house, but now it has been contracted to a 12 month plan," he added.

Robin has been performing in amateur shows for 35 years. In 2005, he scooped the Best Actor in a Comedy Award in the Bolton Evening News Stage Awards, and he has every intention of carrying on.

He said: "It's much more than a hobby, it is a large part of my life, and I will be doing it for a long time yet. I enjoy every role I have done."

Robin's next theatre appearance is with Trinity Players in Farnworth at the end of the month, when he is appearing in Lancashire comedy The Ghost Train, then in June he is on stage in Whitefield in a show called... Cash On Delivery.