Jackpot joy!
I went to shop for snacks and came out with £100,000!
A FURLOUGHED bar worker who had a “random urge” to buy a National Lottery scratchcard as he paid for snacks in his local shop is celebrating after winning £100,000.
Jonathan Wright, 40, had popped to the shops to get some fresh air during lockdown and used some of his change from his purchases on a Win All Scratchcard.
Jonathan, known as Jonny, said his legs then “went to jelly” when he realised he had scooped the top prize of and immediately ran home “like a schoolboy” to tell his wife.
He and Heather, also 40, now plan to celebrate with a holiday abroad once restrictions allow and by buying new carpets for their house in Quorn.
The couple said the win could not have come at a better time after enduring a challenging year due to the pandemic.
Jonathan remains furloughed from his job at the White Hart pub in Quorn, while student nurse Heather is in her final year of studies.
Recalling his winning moment, Jonny said: “I needed some fresh air so went for a walk to the shop to get some chewing gum and a can of something fizzy. I had £3 in change so just bought a National Lottery Scratchcard to use it all up. I’m not a regular National Lottery player but I just had the urge that day.
“I couldn’t even tell you why I chose the one I did. I started walking home and scratched it. My legs went to jelly.
“Even though it’s just a 15-minute walk home from the shop, I couldn’t wait to tell Heather so I phoned her and she obviously didn’t believe my story.
“My knees aren’t good, having played a lot of football when I was younger, but that didn’t bother me – I just ran home like a schoolboy.”
When Jonny got home he immediately showed Heather the winning scratchcard before calling his parents.
As part of his support bubble, he then went over to their house to get them to double-check it, before calling the National Lottery hotline to claim the prize.
He said: “I was physically shaking.
Mum and Dad checked it for me, and again, and said it had to be a winner, so I just called the National Lottery people there and then.
“I went back home to tell Heather and then popped back to the shop to just have someone else verify the scratchcard again.
“I then bought a few bottles of Prosecco to party with Heather and I then just sang and danced around the house for a few hours after that.”
Jonny briefly went back to his job last summer and autumn but now continues to be off work while pubs and bars remain shut.
He said Heather has also found working and studying on the frontline during a pandemic a huge emotional and physical challenge.
Jonny said: “Add in periods of home-schooling – we have an eightyear-old daughter and 10-year-old son – and 2020 wasn’t kind. “However, this is a great gift as we hopefully start to come out of lockdown.
“I’m really looking forward to going back to work and our children will be back with their friends at school very soon. Things are definitely looking up. “To win now, after what has happened, just feels great, especially for the kids.”
Jonny and Heather’s children have never been abroad, so a foreign holiday is on the cards but they will first enjoy a “staycation” when Covid restrictions are eased. Other plans include spending some of the cash on their house, with new carpets a top priority. Jonny has also already bought a new car and said the rest of the money would be saved for a rainy day.
He said: “We had to borrow laptops from our children’s school during the home-schooling period because we couldn’t afford a new one each. To know now we can look after our kids and all their needs just feels great.
“This year is going to be a better year. It’s already started well and the next thing to look forward to is Heather graduating in September and becoming a nurse, a career she has always dreamt of.”
Heather said she did not believe her husband at first when he called her to say he had won £100,000.
She said: “I was sitting with my daughter on the sofa when he called and said ‘I’ve won £100,000.
“I said ‘no you haven’t, go away’. But then we decided to celebrate a bit after that, it was all a bit overwhelming.
“If I was to sum winning in one word it would be ‘fantastic’.”
Jonny bought his winning scratchcard at his local shop C E Bradley Stores, in Station Road, Quorn.
The Win All Scratchcard from The National Lottery costs £2 and offers a 1 / 4.09 overall chance of winning a prize, ranging from £2 to £100,000.
My knees aren’t good, from football when I was younger, but that didn’t bother me – I just ran home like a schoolboy