A nice set of numbers for accountant Jonathan
When Jonathan Aldridge was six years old his parents told him they’d won The National Lottery as an April Fool’s prank.
The accountant from Crawley said, “When my parents said we’d won the National Lottery all four of my brothers were cheering and I burst into tears as I didn’t want to move house. The banter has continued since then. So, when I received a message about the win but couldn’t see a change in my funds on the National Lottery app I was a bit suspicious to say the least.”
Jonathan’s winning adventure started when he bought a couple of Lucky Dip tickets for EuroMillions using some previous winnings. He said, “I had £5 in my account so decided to try my luck in the upcoming EuroMillions draw. The following morning I saw an email from The National Lottery with news about my ticket, and assumed it was £2.70 or maybe another fiver."
Jonathan didn’t spot the message to call The National Lottery and when he saw the balance of his account hadn’t changed, he started to think it might be yet another prank. He said, “It was only when I checked the actual ticket on the app that I spotted the best message ever, ‘you’ve won £133Thousand'.”
He then walked into his parents’ bedroom to utter the magic words, ‘I think I’ve won the Lottery’.
Jonathan, who beat a rare form of cancer in his late teens, wants to use his windfall to live his best life. It’s his way of honouring fellow cancer sufferers – including his best friend – who weren’t as lucky.
He said, “I’m going to invest it wisely to build a bigger deposit for a home and hopefully travel some more. These are things that when I was lying in my hospital bed, I didn’t think would ever be possible.
“And I will be making a donation to Young Lives Versus Cancer (formerly Clic Sargent) who were there for me when I needed their support and understanding the most.”
His brothers, who shaved their heads in solidarity when he lost his hair due to chemotherapy, will also be sharing in his good fortune courtesy of a “slap-up meal” at a restaurant.
16th July 2024
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