A 50 year-old rock band musician from St Helens is celebrating after scooping a million pounds as his share of last Saturday's Lotto jackpot.

Drummer James Stephen Jennion beat out the right rhythm with his winning numbers that earned him £1,045,504.

James, who has been playing the drums since he was 15 and is part of successful psychedelic indie rock/punk band Poisoned Electrick Head.

He plays Lotto online every Saturday and admits he stayed up all night to party once he’d realised he had become a millionaire.

James explained: “I always play Lotto on a Saturday, but normally log into my account to check my numbers on a Monday morning. For some reason this time I logged on to check on Sunday night and saw the message congratulating me on being a winner. I thought it must be a small win but got the shock of my life when I checked my account and realised I had just become a millionaire!

“Once I had got my partner, Andrea, to check and double-check, just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, I phoned my parents and they came over to my partner’s house to help us celebrate. It’s wasn’t quite a rock & roll party but we stayed up all night and had a few celebratory drinks. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep anyway, what with the excitement.”

Roofer James has now decided his new found wealth will mean he won't have to go clambering up ladders to giddy heights any more.

He phoned workmates on Monday morning to tell them the news.

He said: “There are only three of us that work together roofing and we’ve been doing it for nearly 40 years, so they are my friends rather than just work colleagues. They were made up for me when I told them the news and I’ll be buying them a drink or two when I next see them. I won’t miss being out in the elements on a cold February day though!”

James now intends to fully indulge in his passion for music and one of his first purchases will be a state-of-the-art new drum kit.

He explained: “I love my music and the band and I have had some great times together over the years, touring the UK and Europe. We still play gigs all over the place, in fact we’re due to headline a festival in Stafford soon, and I’ve always wanted to get the best drum kit I can – that’s exactly what I’ll be doing with my win.”

Once he has found the ideal new drum hit, James also plans to look into buying a property – he currently spreads his time between his parent’s and partner’s house – and may look to upgrade his car.

James’s winning numbers from the draw on 28 June were 8, 12, 28, 30, 43 and 49.