A Euromillions winner almost missed out on £1million after he left a pile of National Lottery receipts left in his car for four months.
Darren Burfitt, 44, from Swansea, was urged by friends to check his pile of tickets after an appeal was sent out to find a missing winner from the October 18 draw.
However, it was only when he was looking for a packet of crisps for his son in his car did he decide to check the pile in the car’s central console.
“When my son asked for a packet of crisps I didn’t want to open a new bag – we often end up with half open bags of crisps and I knew there was a packet which he hadn’t finished in the car so I said I would pop out and get this one for him,” he explained.
Darren Burfitt and his wife Gemma
National Lottery
He noticed the tickets and decided to grab them from the console where he “kept them for safety”.
The 44-year-old went back into the house and decided to scan each one on the National Lottery app.
He was delighted when he found he won £3.60 on one of the tickets, unaware of what prize was to come.
“One of the tickets was particularly creased so I thought I would leave that one until the end. It was so crumpled it wouldn’t scan, so I had to bring up the draw details and read the results.”
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He was delighted when he found he won £3.60 on one of the tickets, unaware of what prize was to come.
National Lottery
He continued: “I couldn’t quite believe it when I did …. I still cannot believe it now. I just kept looking at the date and then the matching EuroMillions Millionaire Maker code. I just could not comprehend what I was seeing!”
The excitement was briefly replaced with a sense of dread when the dad realised he had left his grey Citroen DS4 unlocked.
“My car is honestly a shed on wheels, held together with mud. It has almost no value, so I never bother to lock it. I dread to think what could have happened to that winning ticket,” he said.
The lucky ticket was purchased at a Morrisons when Burfitt and his family were en route to a caravan holiday.
The lucky ticket was purchased at a Morrisons when Burfitt and his family were en route to a caravan holiday
National Lottery
Calling his wife Gemma to share the good news, the 44-year-old’s voice was shaking so much that his partner thought something terrible had happened.
The couple are now looking to buy their first home together, with a new car also high on the list.
“I keep dreaming of a trip to see the Ashes in Australia, but a pick-up truck is first on the list as my car is literally falling apart. The kids will love the pick-up, and it will enable us to go on even more adventures as a family,” he said.
Gemma added: “I just could never imagine having this much money – it is an unreal feeling. I have to keep pinching myself, it feels like a dream which I will wake up from!
“We love our lives and enjoy great caravan holidays, but this just takes things to another level and allows us to do even more as a family.”
