Broken down bus delivers £1Million EuroMillions win to Belfast woman
A Belfast women told herself that ‘every misfortune is a blessing’ when the bus she was on broke down. This proved to be true when the EuroMillions ticket she bought while waiting for the next bus turned out to be worth £1Million.
Helena Panford, who is originally from Ghana, was on her way to work when her bus broke down. She popped into a shop while waiting for the next bus and bought her life changing ticket.
Helena said, “When the bus broke down I rolled my eyes at the misfortune, and told myself that every misfortune is a blessing. I was so worried that I was going to be late for work that the last thing on my mind was that I would win a million pounds!”
The next day Helena decided to check her ticket and discovered she had matched the unique EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker code to become a guaranteed millionaire.
In disbelief Helena decided to take the ticket back to the shop where she bought it the following day. She said, “The lady working in the shop checked my ticket for me and the first thing I noticed was the shocked look of joy on her face. She looked at me and screamed, ‘you’ve won £1Million’ and I immediately dropped to my knees from shock and started to cry.”
“The staff were so great with me and were able to calm me down but to be honest I have never felt so happy and we continued to laugh and jump around!”
Helena's plans for her family
Helena, who has family staying with her at the moment on holiday, is Northern Ireland’s latest millionaire but she always thought she would be a lottery winner.
“I have won small amounts in the past, like £100, but when I visited Ghana recently for a family event I told some family members that I felt sure I would win big one day and would be in a position to help them all.”
The win will enable Helena to help her family as she never imagined. “When I dreamed of winning, I had an amount of £5k in my head so winning this huge amount of money means that I can now help my family and, in particular, fulfil a dream that my daughter has of coming to Northern Ireland to study for her PhD. I also have a granddaughter with a learning disability who I can’t wait to treat to a holiday.
“I want to treat myself as well and am hoping to buy a house and a car but I first need to pass my test!” Although it seems she may be luckier on the buses.
The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,400 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.
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