The big winner in the New Year’s Postcode Lottery draw is a retired school conciërge from The Hague, who picks up a cheque for €4.7m.

Ruud van der Geest had 10 tickets in the draw and said the big win had completely silenced him. The single father raised his sons alone after his divorce and has been through difficult financial times, the Telegraaf reported.

The big prize fell on postcode 2555 VX, and 32 other households in block of flats in the Donker Curtiusstraat have a share in the €25m jackpot. Along with Van der Geest, three others have become overnight millionaires, the lottery organisers said. Locals in the wider 2555 postcode area will share a similar amount.

There was good news too for two people in Gelderland and Zeeland, who each won €15m in the New Year state lottery draw.

However, technical problems on the Staatsloterij website meant many people were unable to check immediately if they had won a prize or not.