A Donegal lotto winner has come forward to claim their prize of more than €100,000 days before it was due to expire.
National Lottery headquarters issued an urgent appeal recently for the owner of the €120,000 ticket to come forward. The lucky docket was purchased in Ballyshannon in August and was due to expire next Thursday.
But a Lotto spokesperson has today confirmed that the winner has turned up after discovering the ticket tucked away in an old coat.
“You cannot imagine the weight that has been lifted off our shoulders,” said the anonymous winner.
“For the past month, all of the newspapers have been full of stories about this unclaimed prize and we were completely panicking because we knew we bought a ticket in that store but we couldn’t lay our hands on it. We practically turned the house upside down looking for this ticket but we just couldn’t find it. Finally, over the weekend, I was clearing out my wardrobe and I came across an old jacket that I hardly ever wear anymore. I instinctively put my hands into the pockets of the jacket and there it is – a EuroMillions ticket worth nearly €120,000. It’s very difficult to describe the relief of finding it after all this time. We’ve finally stopped worrying and we’re now looking forward to making plans for our prize money.”
Meanwhile the Carr family from Carrick is celebrating after scooping a €40,014 TellyBingo prize.
Margaret Carr missed the all-important draw due to a dentist appointment. The smile soon returned to her face though when she was told the good news.
“I was at the dentist and by the time I got home, word had spread throughout Carrick that the winning ticket was sold in the local filling station where I had bought my ticket. Obviously you hope you might have the winning ticket, but you can never be sure until you see the numbers come out with your own eyes,” said Margaret.
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