A man who won £1million on a scratchcard was so anxious about losing his winning ticket that he taped it to his body – but he realised that plan wasn’t working out so well
A man who popped out for a burger came home a millionaire after a spur of the moment scratchcard win.
It’s far from the first crazy Lottery story, with one woman dumping her boyfriend after a big win. Meanwhile, the third richest Lottery winner recently claimed their whopping £83.5million jackpot.
Craig Haggie, 36, from Liskeard, Cornwall, picked up The National Lottery Scratchcard to pass the time while waiting for his lunch. And he couldn’t believe it when he realised he’d bagged a £1million win with the National Lottery Cash Vault Scratchcard.
The dad-of-four, who purchased his card from the Spar, said: “I went out for lunch and came back a millionaire.”
Craig, managing director of WCL Storage Systems, a family-owned warehouse storage company he runs with his brother Nick said he was so worried about losing the ticket, he taped it to his body.
He said: “It was absolute pandemonium, my family were jumping around the office screaming while my first thought was where’s the safest place to keep the Scratchcard. My brother and I decided I should keep it close, literally, so we put the ticket in a plastic bag and taped it to my body.
“We must have looked crazy mad as he held the roll of tape, and I twirled around to make sure it was stuck securely to my body. It didn’t last long as I quickly got very sweaty, and it wasn’t staying stuck to me so we settled on keeping it in a saucepan on the top of a kitchen cabinet instead.
“You clearly don’t think straight when you find out you’re a millionaire.”
Craig’s wife, Zoe, 33, was at work when he broke the news which she immediately presumed was a prank.
She said: “Craig is always winding me up so I just didn’t believe him. I was at work cleaning a client’s house, and I had to finish before I could leave and meet Craig.
“I remember thinking, ‘Is this real? Has our life really just changed forever?’ I finished the house in record time – never has a carpet been hoovered so quickly.”
Craig and Zoe, who have been married for six years, have four children aged between five and 11.
The family purchased a two-bedroom bungalow at auction nine years ago, and even featured on TV show Homes Under the Hammer with the intention to renovate.
Zoe said: “This win has just been incredible for our family and we can’t wait to start work on our new home, I have sketchbooks full of floor plans already – it’s my favourite hobby.
“We’re both still young and enjoy our jobs, so will continue working, however I may reduce my cleaning hours and even get a cleaner of my own in time – imagine that.”
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