A father from Swansea narrowly avoided missing out on a £1 million lottery win after leaving the winning ticket in his car for several months without checking it. Darren Burfitt, 44, had stashed his EuroMillions ticket in the central console of his grey Citroën DS4, where it remained unnoticed until a chance moment prompted him to scan it.
The golf club greenkeeper only decided to check his tickets when his son asked for a packet of crisps. Burfitt retrieved the crumpled ticket, which was so creased it wouldn't scan, and manually verified the results. 'I just kept looking at the date and then the matching EuroMillions Millionaire Maker code,' he said. 'I just could not comprehend what I was seeing.'
His initial excitement turned to dread when he realised his car had been left unlocked for four months. 'My car is honestly a shed on wheels, held together with mud,' he explained. 'It has almost no value, so I never bother to lock it! I dread to think what could have happened to that winning ticket.'
Burfitt, originally from Burnley, bought the ticket at Morrisons Daily in Penllergaer for the draw on October 18, 2024. His wife Gemma, a teaching assistant, was away when he discovered the win. 'When I called Gemma my voice was shaking so much, she was convinced something had happened to one of the children,' he said.
The couple, who have two children, plan to buy their first home together and replace Burfitt's unreliable car with a pick-up truck. 'We love our lives and enjoy great caravan holidays but this just takes things to another level,' Gemma said. 'It changes everything and gives us so much security for our future.'
