Manchester United star celebrates massive win...on postcode lottery

A ex-Manchester United star is celebrating, despite his former team's woes on the pitch this season, after netting a £400,000 lottery win.

Clifford Bull, 82, scooped a share of the £3.2 million prize pot, more than 65 years after he was signed by the Red Devils' legend Sir Matt Busby - manager of the iconic 'Busby Babes'. 

The former player put pen to paper on his United contract in October 1957 and moved into a house near their Old Trafford ground in January 1958 - only 10 days before the Munich air crash that killed six players and 17 others, including club officials, journalists and cabin crew.

Bull was once a promising left winger but his career was cut short after being forced to retire in his teens due to a serious knee injury.

Despite his short career Cliff played with some of the world's best players, including World Cup winner Nobby Stiles and Leeds United legend Johnny Giles.

He went on to retrain as a plumber and has now vowed to take 22 family members on a holiday of a lifetime following his People's Postcode Lottery Win.

Cliff, of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, said: 'I'm absolutely staggered, I'm still lost for words. It opens up so many possibilities.

'I'm overwhelmed to be quite honest. It's beyond what I could ever have dreamt.

'I can pay for a holiday for all of the family, that would be my dream for all of us to go away, which at the last count was 22. That would make me very very happy.'

After Cliff was signed by United legend Busby in October 1957 as a 15-year-old schoolboy, he left school and moved into digs close to Old Trafford on January 27, 1958.

He added: 'I was 15 when I signed for Manchester United, and I signed the papers in Matt Busby's office.

'My mum always used to say that "one of the greatest kicks I've had in my life was being able to kiss Matt Busby".'

However tragedy struck when a plane carrying Manchester United's playing squad and staff crashed at Munich airport in February 1958. The disaster claimed the lives of 23 people.

Cliff signed for Nottingham Forest after two seasons at United but his career ended prematurely after a series of nasty knee injuries which required around 26 operations.

Cliff and his wife Jeanette, who passed away three years ago, went on to have three daughters and he is now a grandfather of seven and a great-grandfather of two.

Cliff added: 'The overwhelming disappointment is that Jeanette's not here to see it, but she's a big part of this.

'But I'll be able to help out all my grandkids financially, especially with the expense of things today. I'm sure they'll be over the moon, probably more than me.

'I'm getting on now and I'm hoping to have a few more years and I'd like to take the whole family away which would be fantastic.'

He joked: 'Skegness at this time of year is a little bit nippy, we might have to go somewhere a little bit warmer.'

Cliff was among a trio of players to net the top prize after their postcode, NG11 0JR, was announced as the winner of the lottery's Postcode Millions prize on Saturday March 1.

Shirley Woltman, 62, bagged the biggest prize of £800,000 and Cliff's close-friend and next-door neighbour Mandy McMenamin, 57, also won £400,000.

Shirley said: 'It doesn't feel real at the moment, I'm sure at some point it will become real.'

Mandy said: ' 'I just couldn't believe it, I felt butterflies and I just wanted to cry, and I did cry.'

The remaining half of the £3.2m prize was shared out between 237 people in the postcode sector with each person winning at least £6,201.