Lottery millionaire's investment proves a winner Down Under

The firm, called Get Hummered, is doing so well that the former trawlerman is quitting his home in Grimsby, and taking his wife and two teenage daughters to live on the sunshine coast of Queensland instead.

The 3.1m winner – who already owns a holiday home 60 miles from Brisbane – admitted yesterday that street crime and mass immigration had influenced his decision to pack and his bags and leave Britain behind.

Mr Finn, 52, said: "We've been thinking about moving to Australia for a long time, but the success of the business has given me another reason to do it now as soon as we possibly can.

"I can't imagine that I'm going to miss Britain that much. Everyone's so laid back in Australia, and there's such a relaxed atmosphere wherever you go.

"Crime's not the problem that it is here, and the Australians haven't been overwhelmed by immigration like we have in Britain."

He decided to invest in the business after he got to know the founder of the company on trips to the family's waterfront home Down Under.

The gamble has paid off handsomely with bookings now at all time high and customers queuing up to hire the company's six giant Hummers – worth anything up to 300,000 apiece.

The ex-deckhand, who hit the jackpot in 1998, added: We'd only got one Hummer when I got involved, but things have really taken off since then and we're operating round the clock seven days a week now.

His two daughters, Elizabeth, 14, and Danielle, 15, can't wait to pack their bags and leave Grimsby behind.

His business partner in Australia, Peter Hade, said the company was going from strength to strength. "Bernie got involved early on, and the business has proved a really good investment."