A WOMAN who was turned away by a cashier when she tried to claim her lottery prize later discovered she had won £120,000.
Angela Hathorn, 63, thought there was a problem with her Set For Life ticket when the cashier checked it at the Co-op branch in Orpington, Kent.
The shopkeeper asked a colleague to take a look before turning Angela away, leaving her baffled.
But when she called the National Lottery helpline, she discovered that she had won £10,000 every month for a year in the 23 January Set For Life draw.
Angela said: “Every Sunday I buy my Set For Life tickets for the coming week and normally get both checked at the end of the week in the shop, I never check the numbers online.
“Unusually, I went into the Co-op on the Tuesday and asked the lady to check the numbers for the Monday night draw.
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"She had a puzzled look on her face as she stared at The National Lottery terminal and then she asked her colleague to take a look.
“I was starting to get nervous, worried there was a problem and not helped by a large queue behind me, before the shop assistant said they couldn’t pay out over £100, and I should go call the National Lottery line to claim my prize.
“I didn’t even ask how much, I just went back to my car to drive home.”
Angela's knees repeatedly buckled as she made her way to her car, and when she got home, her husband Steve, 68, thought something was wrong.
She said: “I got home, and as usual Steve opened the door for me and immediately asked me what the matter was as I obviously didn’t look my normal self.
"I told him the story and so we sat down to call the number on the back of the Set For Life ticket.
“The man at The National Lottery told me that it sounded like I had won and that someone would be contacting me as soon as possible to confirm the win, and then I couldn’t stop saying, ‘Oh my God, oh my God!’.
"Steve was by this time as white as a sheet! I did try to have some lunch but could only manage half a sandwich.
I didn’t sleep for days, nervous it was still a dream and it was just amazing when everything was confirmed
“I then carefully put my winning Set For Life ticket in my old National Lottery plastic wallet, which is held together with Sellotape and kept it in my handbag for safekeeping.
“I didn’t sleep for days, nervous it was still a dream and it was just amazing when everything was confirmed.”
Angela, a retired special-needs worker at schools and nurseries, is planning a series of cruises, staycations and glitzy trips to London with Steve, a former design draughtsman.
The couple have been married for 41 years and have two sons, Lee and James, and two grandchildren.
She said: “I’m not really into material things, but this fabulous win will help Steve and I enjoy life to the full.
"As we are both retired we have the time so I want to go on a cruise, having watched lots of television programmes about this type of holiday.
"I love going into London for activities like afternoon tea with a view of the horizon.
"And we love to visit historical and heritage sites. We did this a lot before Covid, and the win will kick start more trips for us.”
Angela added: “I love my garden, it’s an oasis. It’s a very special place for me so I think I’ll treat myself to some more plants.”
Even though the grandmother-of-two's winning numbers were from a Lucky Dip selection, two of them were ones she would have normally chosen because they match her two son's birthdays.
‘Set For Life’ is an draw-based annuity game from The National Lottery which offers a top prize of £10K a month for 30 years when the five main numbers and the Life Ball are matched.
Players can win £10K a month for a whole year by matching the five main numbers.
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Set For Life costs £1.50 per line to play and draws take place every Monday and Thursday.
You should never spend more than you can afford on any lottery ticket.
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