A MUM has told how she won £1million on the lottery – but didn’t get her cash for months.
Deborah Burgess, 56, from Wigston, Leicestershire, even called the cops for help when she discovered she had won.
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She scooped the life-changing prize in the Lotto draw on August 19 last year.
But the medical records administrator did not realise she had won anything for months after falling ill with chronic anaemia and having to spend time in hospital herself for treatment.
Due to her illness and then a holiday to recuperate, Ms Burgess did not check her emails for a while.
But when she finally read the message from the National Lottery, she initially thought it may be a scam, until it was confirmed and her winnings were paid out.
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Recalling the moment she found out about her life-changing win, Deb 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 with my mum there and then.
“I had the shock of my life when I did check my account.
“I asked my mum what she thought and, with neither of us able to think that clearly after such an incredible shock, she told me to call the police to check if there were any scams going around.
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“I called them and they reassured me, so I then phoned The National Lottery and the man on the end of the phone confirmed the win was in fact real.
“Funnily enough, I still didn’t think it was real until a lady from The National Lottery actually turned up on my doorstep to confirm everything and pay me my winnings.
“So, I guess that the moral of the story is to regularly check your National Lottery account.
“I was a millionaire for months but didn’t know it.”
After finding out she had become a millionaire in October last year, Ms Burgess shared the news with her son Nathan, 21, and his girlfriend – and plans to use some of her winnings to help them after Nathan graduates from university.
As well as planning a trip to swim with dolphins in Hawaii with her family, Ms Burgess is also spending the money on converting a bedroom into a bathroom for her mother Patricia and having new garden fencing fitted after the recent gales tore them down.
Ms Burgess has also bought a new car, having sold her old one, a Peugeot 2008, to Ms Smith.
She said: “I’ve bought a new car. It’s not brand new, but a nice Hyundai.
“I wasn’t going to sell my car but my 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.”
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Of her win, Ms Burgess 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.”
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