A LOTTERY winner who claimed a whopping £300,000 from a scratchcard says her joy is bittersweet – as her beloved husband isn’t by her side to share in her fortune.
Caroline Walsh, a mum-of-two from Pontypool in Wales, won the life-changing amount of cash as part of a family syndicate.
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The 58-year-old, who lost husband Mike to cancer in 2021, says she was stunned after realising she’d hit the jackpot with the Super 7s Scratchcard.
Caroline bought the card at a Premier Express in her hometown on the way to the doctors – and scratched it moments before her appointment.
She joked: “Thank goodness the doctor didn’t take my blood pressure in the appointment.
“It would have been through the roof.
“I wouldn’t have been able to tell her what was causing it because I wanted my sons to be the first to know.
“I spoke to my sons as soon as I got out of the surgery and they couldn’t believe it.”
She said the family is in “shock”
“My sons are both grown up and have children of their own so the money will make such a difference to all of us,” she said.
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“Mike and I always used to play the National Lottery together and talk about what we’d do if we won.
“He would have loved all of this.”
The couple had always planned to move to Spain if they ever won money, but Caroline said: “For now, I think he’ll be happy knowing that I’m going to be taken care of.”
The shock of losing her husband of 34 years triggered a lupus attack for Caroline. She spent six weeks in hospital.
While she was away, her bungalow flooded, leading to months of further disruption.
GRAN’S JOY
The grandmother, who worked as a school lollipop lady for 21 years before being forced to retire early due to ill health, said, “Last year was awful, but things are definitely improving.
“The first thing I’m going to do is transform my garden. I want to make it into a space that’s easy to manage and somewhere I can enjoy when the sun shines.
“I’ve already bought some little treats for my grandchildren and I’m going to put some money aside for all of them.”
And rather than splash her winnings on an exotic cruise or five-star hotel, she plans to head to the West Country – a place she and Mike loved to visit.
“My husband and I have had a caravan for years in Brean Sands in Somerset,” she said.
My late husband would have loved this… I think he’ll be happy knowing that I’m going to be taken care of
“We had such a lovely community of friends there and I’m looking forward to going back to celebrate in a place where I have such happy memories.”
Eldest son Chris, 40, is a ward manager at a local hospital. The dad-of-two has worked on the frontlines throughout the pandemic – and says he’s most excited to have a real break.
“I couldn’t believe it when my mum called. I was absolutely ecstatic,” he said.
“£100,000 is an amazing amount of money and I can’t wait to put it towards a family holiday and plenty of treats for my partner and our children.”
The Super 7s Scratchcard offers a 1 in 3.52 overall chance of winning a prize. The card costs £3 and prizes range from £3 to £300,000.
National Lottery players contribute more than £30million a week to good causes. More than £45billion has been raised for charity so far.
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