A dad from Scotland came inches away from throwing away a winning lottery ticket that earned him £1million.
Half-asleep when he first read the numbers, Robert Cameron, 53 and a dad to five kids, matched the bonus ball and five numbers on Saturday, July 30.
The Daily Record reports that Mr Cameron scooped up his ticket in a local Asda.
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He went to feed the fish the following morning but, bleary-eyed and not yet fully awake, he nearly got the numbers wrong.
He said that he wants to spend his winnings on taking the family on holiday, and bagging a new house and a new Range Rover.
"I've played the National Lottery since it began but hadn't bought a ticket for a year or so. I always thought it would never happen to me but when I passed the counter, I thought of the recent EuroMillions jackpot winner from the UK," he said.
"I never normally carry cash but, as fate would have it, I had £4 of change in my pocket so I thought I would try my luck for the draw that night. When I checked my ticket the next day, I had won £3.70. I had a bit of a chuckle to myself thinking that's all I'd ever win but my mum always used to say, 'a win leads to a win'.
"She always told us if you win something, take it and put it into something else so I decided I'd follow her advice and use my winnings to buy two Lucky Dips for that night's Lotto draw."
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Heading home after a long day, he forgot to pick up his new ticket.
"I'd just got settled in for the night when I remembered I hadn't gone to the shop for the tickets. Then I got a call from my youngest son asking if I would go and pick him up,” he said.
"I decided I may as well nip into Asda and get the Lucky Dips, and I'm so glad I did. I just went about my usual routine – fed the fish, got a cup of tea and then thought I better check those tickets.
"I always check on the app and of course the same congratulations message popped up as the day before with my £3.70 win.
"I expected to see something similar and when I looked at first, I thought it said £1,000. I was still half asleep, so I looked again and thought 'no it's £100,000'. It took a third look for me to realise I was a millionaire. I even Googled the winning numbers to double check."
He said the wait for confirmation of his win when he phoned the National Lottery was painful.
"The lady I spoke to was lovely, but I had to wait a minute or so while she checked everything out. It was the longest minute. Hearing her say those words – that I had actually won £1,000,000 – was so surreal," he added.
"I have a great relationship with my four sons, but I am always joking with them so when I told my youngest he didn't believe me at first. It took me half an hour to convince him it was real.
"I couldn't quite believe it myself. I think I'm still in shock. I was then worried about keeping the ticket safe and making sure I didn't lose it, so I put it inside a picture frame behind the photo.
"I didn't even want to leave the house with the ticket still sitting there. I want to be thoughtful with how I use the money and do things that will be good for my family. I am so grateful I followed my mum's advice – I feel like my luck was thanks to her looking down on me."
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