Treat for daughter leads to family’s million-pound windfall
A MOTHER popped to the shop to buy a treat for her ill three-year-old daughter – and came out with a lottery scratchcard that has made her a millionaire.
Mother-of-four Tammie Pickett, 37, scooped the £1 million top prize when she bought a couple of Monopoly Millionaire 2016 scratchcards from a One Stop and Post Office, along with some sweets.
After going outside and finding the £1m-winning symbol, Mrs Pickett ran back into the store in a state of shock and pushed to the front of the queue.
Inside, she spoke to the shop assistant, who is also her friend, and asked him to check her scratchcard on the machine, before she burst into tears.
Mrs Pickett, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said: “I was utterly speechless and even when I ran back into the shop I could barely make myself understood.”
She added: “Thankfully I know Ryan well, I used to work in the shop with him, so he immediately took the scratchcard, put it into the lottery terminal and confirmed it was a big win and I needed to call Camelot.
“I just burst into tears of joy.
“I couldn’t believe it, and all the time my poor little daughter was worried something bad had happened.”
Mrs Pickett, who is married to husband of six years Ian, 35, now plans to trade their rented home with shared bedrooms for their children for their own four-bedroom house.
She said: “We will all benefit from this win but I’m keeping my feet firmly on the ground.
“A few treats here and there, then some careful planning for our future security.”