A mother who believes she secured a £12 million lottery jackpot is enduring an excruciating 30-day wait after alleging her winning ticket was inadvertently discarded by a shopkeeper.
Kath Main, 46, discovered the June 6 Lotto jackpot had remained unclaimed and recognised the winning numbers corresponded with the identical combination she has played for 20 years. However, the ticket had already vanished after her mother took it to a Londis store in Abercynon, south Wales, to be verified - and was purportedly informed it was not a winner.
The National Lottery operator Allwyn is now examining the allegation, reports the Sun. It can take up to 30 days for Allwyn to investigate and determine if Kath has won. Kath, a mother-of-two who serves as a rugby club treasurer, said the uncertainty has left her struggling to manage. 'I just feel sick all the time, it's the not knowing and waiting,' she said.
Kath said she only became aware there might be an issue after encountering reports about the missing jackpot. 'I saw there was an unclaimed lottery ticket and checked the numbers and realised they were mine,' she said. 'I rang my mother and said, "You did put the lottery on?" and she said "Yeah". I said, "Well we've won the lottery," and she said, "I checked and there was no winners". I said "No, it's a winner, we've won".'
When Kath enquired about the ticket's whereabouts, she was informed it had been thrown away. Café proprietor Fiona, who had accepted the ticket for verification, stated the machine failed to generate the customary alert and the shop assistant informed her no winning prize had been displayed. 'He told me, "There are no winners, do you want them back?" And I said if there are no winners then put them in the bin,' she said. Kath subsequently learnt the rubbish had already been emptied and the ticket could not be retrieved.
Allwyn confirmed it was looking into the matter, stating it was 'the only major lottery that allows players to claim a prize if a winning ticket has been lost, stolen or destroyed'.
