Carlisle factory worker celebrates after £2m National Lottery scratchcard win
A 61-year-old man from Cumbria is £2m richer following a win on a National Lottery scratchcard.
Former Pirelli factory worker Ian Black, from Carlisle, picked up the scratchcard as he stopped to buy a newspaper on the way home from a night shift.
“Something was just telling me to buy it," he said.
“I went out of the shop and sat and scratched it – I just could not believe what I was seeing. I let out a scream and immediately drove home.
"As I went into the house I was shouting to my wife, Sandra, to come down the stairs. She immediately thought something had happened to the dog. I said 'no, we have won £2m'.
“She just thought it was all a joke – but then she looked at the card and almost fainted. Sandra just went white!"
Road works outside the store - on Wigton Road - meant Ian almost did not stop but he is pleased that he persevered.
“To think I almost didn’t go into the shop on that morning because of the roadworks," he said. "I really was so close to just driving past!”
Top of the shopping list for Ian and Sandra, 55, is an operation for their rescued dog, Meg, a cross labrador/Staffordshire bull terrier.
They also hope to buy a plot of land in the countryside to building their dream home on, complete with a man cave for Ian.
In addition Ian, who supports Carlisle United football fan and also loves rugbyis looking forward to taking a first-class train to the Twickenham without having to think about the cost! A new Volvo for Sandra and a 75-inch television to enable Ian to relax watching football are also likely to be among the first purchases.
The couple have five children and 10 grandchildren, who are all currently living in rented accommodation, and they plan to use this money to help their offspring get on to the property ladder.
Ian immediately handed in his notice at work and he and Sandra, a retired care worker, are now looking forward to a better retirement.
He said: “I don’t think I have even seen that many zeros. I kept questioning, is this really £2m? I immediately phoned work and said to them I wouldn’t be in that day, adding, actually I don’t think I will be in this week, or actually ever again!
“My boss, understandably, sounded really shocked and just said why, what an earth has happened? That feeling when I could just say 'I have won the National Lottery' is a moment I will never forget.
“Never did I believe I would ever get to say this. You always dream about it – but it just doesn’t happen to people like Sandra and I – well now we are proof it does!”
Ian added: “It is all just so overwhelming and I actually think the news is still sinking in.
“Sandra and I now cannot wait to really live the dream and make the absolute most of our retirement! What a magical moment this is in our lives!”
The scratchcard Ian bought was The Monopoly Deluxe, which operators say has a 1 in 3.38 overall chance of winning a prize. Prizes range from £5 up to the top prize of £2m.