A lucky father who won the lottery wore a bizarre mascot costume while claiming his winnings to keep the jackpot a secret from his family in China. (pictures)

Donning a yellow costume, the man, identified only as 'Li', turned up to collect the staggering 219 million yuan (around 26 million GBP) prize at the lottery office in Nanning City, Guangxi province, on October 24.

He had booked a hotel in the city after learning he hit the jackpot on October 21.

Before facing the media for the cheque presentation, however, he put on the character costume to conceal his identity.

He had hit all seven lottery numbers, netting him a huge sum amounting to around 171.6 million yuan (20.4 million GBP) after taxes.

Li also donated five million yuan (600k GBP) to charity.

Speaking to local media, he said: 'I'm really happy I won, but I don't want my family to know about this since they might become too arrogant and complacent in the future.

'I only won a few dozen yuan in the past. I regard buying the lottery as a hobby, and my family does not care. Plus, I do not spend much money on it, and the lottery provides a ray of hope for me.'

The lottery winner added that he is still thinking carefully about how to spend the windfall.