Former lovers battle over £1m Lotto jackpot
He claims it was HIS idea to buy scratchcard... but SHE paid for it
A COUPLE are fighting over the £1million winnings from a Lottery scratchcard bought before they broke up.
Michael Cartlidge, 39, claims he and 37-year-old former girlfriend Charlotte Cox purchased the card together.
But after breaking up with him weeks later, Ms Cox has been deemed the sole winner by National Lottery chiefs.
Mr Cartlidge admits she paid for and scratched the ticket, but claims he suggested buying one and attempted to transfer money to cover the cost. He says that the mother of one agreed to share the cash.
‘I am in shock,’ the security engineer told The Sun. ‘We wouldn’t have got that ticket without Charlotte, but she wouldn’t have got it without me either. I know it was her bank account that paid for it, but it should go 50-50 morally.’
He says Lottery chiefs Camelot at first indicated that the money would be split after reviewing CCTV footage from the shop in Spalding, Lincolnshire. Last night Ms Cox described Mr Cartlidge’s allegations as ‘rubbish’. The couple had been together for three months when they bought a pair of £5 Dice Towers scratchcards during a trip to the shops late last year.
He claims she asked him to send her the money for them but bought the tickets before the transfer from his bank account completed.
Three weeks after the win the relationship broke down.
Following mediation, in which representatives from Camelot interviewed the pair, Mr Cartlidge said he was told he would share the prize.
But on February 10, less than two weeks after Allwyn took over the Lottery from Camelot, Mr Cartlidge received a letter saying he was not entitled to anything.
Allwyn told The Sun: ‘The rules make clear that only one person can be the owner of a ticket and that only the person whose name and address is written on the back of a winning scratchcard can claim a prize.’
Mr Cartlidge said he is considering legal action.