Leeds lottery winner has a taste of the Amazon

Leeds lottery winner Lewis Gill has been treated to a taste of the tropics in Leeds as a practice run for him heading off on a trip-of-a-lifetime to the Amazon Rainforest.
Lottery winner Lewis Gill from Leeds  spent the morning at Tropical World at Roundhay park in Leeds helping out with the animals.Lottery winner Lewis Gill from Leeds  spent the morning at Tropical World at Roundhay park in Leeds helping out with the animals.
Lottery winner Lewis Gill from Leeds spent the morning at Tropical World at Roundhay park in Leeds helping out with the animals.

The 22-year-old, who won the top prize on The National Lottery’s £100,000 Red Scratchcard last month, plans to spend his winnings on an adventurous holiday to the Amazon so was invited to spend the day at Tropical World, in Roundhay Park, and get up close and personal with the animals.

The life insurance consultant met everything from the park’s loveable meerkats to Sid the bearded dragon and a pair of cheeky golden lion tamarin monkeys.

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Lewis, from Headingley, said: “Spending the morning with the animal keepers at Tropical World has been a fantastic experience and one I certainly would like to do again. It has always been my dream to tour the Amazon Rainforest and being able to go behind the scenes at Tropical World to witness, first-hand, how the animals are cared for has been phenomenal.”

He added: “This experience has certainly given me a glimpse of what life in the Amazon may be like, and has got me really excited about my trip. All I need to do now is get my flights booked.”

Tropical World manager Shaun Gregory said: “It’s been a joy to welcome Lewis to Tropical World today, he really got stuck in with the animals and been a great help to the team. It’s a tough, but rewarding job we have and I hope that the experience we’ve given to Lewis today will really benefit him when he jets off on his own Amazon adventure.”

As previously reported in the YEP, Lewis’s winning scratchcard was given to him as a prize by his boss at Leeds-based firm Lifesearch after impressing in a work incentive scheme.