Dad drove around with £1,000,000 lottery ticket for months and didn’t realise
A dad nearly missed out on bagging a cool £1 million after leaving the winning lottery ticket in his car and forgetting to check it.
Darren Burfitt, 44, from Swansea, had been reminded by friends and relatives to look after an appeal went out searching for a missing millionaire following the Euromillions draw on October 18.
One lucky player could win the biggest lottery jackpot ever if they scoop the top prize in Friday’s draw – a staggering £202 million.
The golf club greenkeeper said: ‘I had a few tickets in the central console of my car – it is where I always keep them for safety and I just hadn’t got round to checking them.
‘When my son asked for a packet of crisps I didn’t want to open a new bag – we often end up with half open bags of crisps and I knew there was a packet which he hadn’t finished in the car so I said I would pop out and get this one for him.
‘I decided to grab my National Lottery tickets at the same time, went back into the house and started to scan each one on The National Lottery app on my phone.’
Darren, whose tickets had been stashed in his grey Citroen DS4, said he was made up when one of the tickets pinged as he scanned it and discovered he had won £3.60.
‘One of the tickets was particularly creased so I thought I would leave that one until the end,’ he added.
‘It was so crumpled it wouldn’t scan, so I had to bring up the draw details and read the results.
‘I couldn’t quite believe it when I did. In fact, I still cannot believe it now.
‘I just kept looking at the date and then the matching EuroMillions Millionaire Maker code – and then the date and the code again – I just could not comprehend what I was seeing.’
The excitement briefly gave way to a sense of dread when Darren realised he had left the car unlocked for the past four months and anyone could have dipped in and swiped his prize.
‘My car is honestly a shed on wheels, held together with mud,’ he said.
‘It has almost no value, so I never bother to lock it! I dread to think what could have happened to that winning ticket.’
Darren’s wife, Gemma, a teaching assistant, was away overnight when he discovered his win.
He said: ‘When I called Gemma my voice was shaking so much, she was convinced something had happened to one of the children.
‘I said no – we have won one million pounds. But she just wouldn’t believe me.’
The couple, who also have a six-year-old daughter, are now excitedly planning their future and have their sights set on buying their first home together.
Darren also wants a new pick-up truck to replace his car which is proving unreliable for the family.
He said: ‘I keep dreaming of a trip to see the Ashes in Australia – but a pick-up truck is first on the list as my car is literally falling apart.
‘The kids will love the pick-up and it will enable us to go on even more adventures as a family.’
Gemma, 34, added: ‘I just could never imagine having this much money – it is an unreal feeling.
‘I literally have to keep pinching myself – thinking it is a dream which I will wake up from.
‘We love our lives and enjoy great caravan holidays but this just takes things to another level and allows us to do even more as a family.
‘It changes everything and we can finally buy a home of our own. It is going to give us so much security for our future and our children’s future.’
Darren, originally from Burnley, bought his winning EuroMillions ticket from Morrisons Daily in Penllergaer for the draw on 18th October 2024 on their way to a family holiday.
The couple were speaking ahead of tomorrow’s EuroMillions jackpot that could see history being made, as the nation’s biggest-ever National Lottery winner could be crowned.
The estimated jackpot for Friday night’s draw is estimated to be an astounding £202 million.
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