A COUPLE who scooped £250,000 from a £2 lottery scratchcard after losing their keys have revealed they could have lost it out a minute earlier.
A delay to buying the National Lottery scratchcard led Michelle Newton and her husband John Simpson of Kent to hit the jackpot.
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The lovebirds were planning to go Christmas shopping when they lost the keys at their home in Tunbridge Wells.
Teacher Ms Newton explained: “We were off to town in between Christmas and New Year to see the sales, just to mooch really.
“On the way back, we popped into the newsagent, later than planned, to pick up a few bits. With the change left, we bought a scratchcard.”
The delay meant the couple bought a £2 scratchcard at a different time from Pages Newsagent’s in Camden Road.
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Minutes later, luck struck the couple when they immediately scratched the card outside the shop only to realise they had won £250,000.
She added: “We just stopped dead in our tracks. I said to John, ‘I can’t believe this is happening’.
“We just stood there in the street, cars whizzing past, shaking, realising we had won.”
Instead of going home, they rushed to their local pub in shock to celebrate the huge moment.
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Thrilled John, 61, said: “We kept looking at the scratchcard and thinking about what to do next. Michelle said she felt light-headed.
“So instead of going home, we diverted to the local pub, The Black Horse, for a pint before calling to claim our prize.”
The lovebirds now plan to splash the cash on renovating their home, paying off the mortgage and buying a rental property.
They also want to treat themselves with a trip to Australia to celebrate John’s birthday.
Michelle added: “We are still in shock, but what I’m looking forward to is being more relaxed about money.
“It’s been a whirlwind few weeks. John hasn’t slept much. Until the lady from the National Lottery turned up we hid the scratchcard in the lining of John’s coat.
“We’d keep getting it out, looking at it over and over. And I still can’t believe we have won.”
It comes as a woman whose sister-in-law won a £9.3million jackpot slammed her for giving a “stingy” gift – telling gobsmacked friends it doesn’t come as a surprise.
May Powell, from Telford in Shropshire, was thrilled after her husband Len’s sister Irene Jones scooped the lottery prize.
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Elsewhere, Britain’s second biggest lottery winners are launching their own investment fund.
Joe and Jess Thwaite won a £184million Euromillions jackpot in 2022.
