A pair of hopeful Lotto punters who thought they'd won £1,000 sat in stunned silence as they realised their prize was in fact a whopping £1MILLION.
Syndicate PALS Marion Wood, 60, and Michael Williams, 67, from Northampton, were left speechless after matching five main numbers and a bonus ball on the National Lottery earlier this month.
As NHS worker Marion read out the pairs numbers, Michael was in the kitchen checking the digits and even gave out a "squeak" when he realised how many they'd matched.
Marion works at Northampton General Hospital and Michael is a retired construction worker - both will take home £500,000 each.
Speaking about the life-changing draw, which left both in stunned silence and needing a cup of tea, Marion said: “I was on annual leave, it was the Tuesday after the Saturday draw which we won on.
"Michael and I always check our tickets for the last draw just before the next one. He was on his computer in the kitchen, I was in the lounge.
“I started to shout out the numbers on my ticket and he shouted yes, then yes, then another yes and then his voice changed - in fact he squeaked! There was another yes and the final yes was followed by a ‘Can you come here please?’”
When Marion wandered into the kitchen and looked at the numbers on Michael's screen she originally thought the amount they'd won was £1,000.
She added: “I looked, looked again, Michael was going through the numbers one by one, and he kept on saying it’s a million, it’s a milli - and I said ‘I don’t know what a million in numbers looks like?!’"
Due to it being late on a Tuesday evening the pair had to excitedly wait until the following day to ring The National Lottery and make their claim.
“I’m a big tea drinker, so we had a cup of tea and sat in stunned silence as we absorbed what had just happened," Marion said.
"I didn’t tell a soul at first, I just carried on as normal holding onto the lucky ticket wherever I went. I kept the ticket in my diary, which I keep in my purse, until the lady from Camelot visited to check it and confirmed that Michael and I actually were big winners.
“Even now it still hasn’t completely sunk in, but seeing our names on the big cheque has definitely made it feel more real.” Asked how they will celebrate she said, “I’m still unsure about what sort of celebration we’ll have but I am getting a taste for champagne having sipped a bit since the win.
“Working through Covid in the NHS has been tough. The amount of work has increased and, unfortunately, I have lost many family and friends. However, work has kept me going, I love my job and I won’t be leaving even after this amazing win.”
When quizzed on what the pair will spend their winnings on Marion admitted she wants to "carry on as normal" for a bit, adding: "I’m from an army family and routine is important to me so I think I’ll just let my head get around it first.
"I might treat myself to some jewellery, it will be nice to have something special to remember how I felt when I won.”
While Michael, a father of three who retired last year, revealed he's going to spend his money on a his first car since 1981 and some rugby memorabilia.
He added: "Finally, I’ll also treat my family, they’ve been good to me and it will be lovely to do something nice for them.”
Marion, originally from Caerphilly, Wales, bought the winning ticket on Saturday, March 12 from her local Morrisons using number of friends and family member's birthdays.
