Deb sells car for a quid after winning £1M on Lotto

Deborah, who works as a medical records administrator, used part of her amazing prize to buy herself a near new Hyundai. She said, “I wasn’t going to sell my old car, but a friend wanted to buy it from me. She wanted to pay the proper price, but because of the win I sold it to her for just a pound. It feels wonderful to be able to do such a thing.”

Deborah bought a batch of National Lottery tickets online in August 2023. But a health scare meant it was several months before she found out she’d become a National Lottery millionaire.

She explained, “I don’t play The National Lottery every week but when I do, I buy maybe a month’s worth of tickets via my online account. I don’t check my account regularly and I was then poorly for a while, including time spent in hospital. I then had a holiday to help with my recuperation so it was months before I actually checked my emails.”

Recalling the moment she found out about her big win, she said, “I had finally got around to catching up on things after a tough few months and was checking my emails at home - there were so many after not going online for a while. I noticed I had one from The National Lottery with a reminder to check my account because I was a winner, so I checked my account and had the shock of my life!

“I then phoned The National Lottery and the man on the end of the phone confirmed the win was real. Funnily enough, I still didn’t think it was real until a lady from The National Lottery turned up on my doorstep to confirm everything and pay me my winnings!

“So, I guess the moral of the story is to regularly check your National Lottery account. I was a millionaire for months but didn’t know it!”

Deborah celebrated her win by sipping champagne with her mum, Patricia, her son Nathan and his girlfriend.

She said, “The last few months have been a blur – illness, then going back to work, holidays, Christmas, New Year – I just couldn’t find the time to celebrate and I was very conscious of monitoring my health. But finally getting hold of that big cheque and spraying champagne like a Formula 1 driver has been well worth the wait.”

A trip to Hawaii is at the top of Deborah’s wish list as well as some renovations to her home.

She said, “I have already booked a holiday with Nathan and his girlfriend to Hawaii after he graduates. I’ve always wanted to go there – it just sounds so exotic. We hope to swim with dolphins, go snorkelling with sea turtles and then zoom down a zip wire through the jungle. We are going to pack in loads! It’s going to be a holiday of a lifetime.”

2nd February 2024