FISHERMAN REELS IN £300K ON LOTTERY – THEN HAS EARLY NIGHT
Scratchcard winner puts new angling gear on his shopping list
A KEEN fisherman is celebrating after reeling in a top catch of £300,000 on a National Lottery scratchcard.
Graham Potts, aged 56, had popped into his local One Stop on this way home from work and bought the Jewel Smash scratchcard with spare change in his pocket.
The dad-of-three, from Sandbach, waited until he got home before he checked to see if he had won.
He said: “It still all feels a little surreal. I saw the number three and just thought I had won £3.
“I then started to see zeros, but thought I was just seeing double or had maybe won £300.
“It was at that point I thought I just need to call Camelot to get this straight. I was just checking, checking, double and triple checking.
“When the lady on the phone said it was a £300,000 prize, I couldn’t quite believe it.
“I just fell silent. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, shout or what to do.”
Graham celebrated with a glass of beer before going to bed, conscious he needed to get up for work as a traffic management engineer early the following day.
He added: “I went into work as everything still didn’t feel real.
“I just wanted to get on with the day job and try to keep things normal.”
But Graham said when he got home that night things did start to sink in, and he began to plan how he would spend some of his new-found fortune.
New fishing equipment is high on the shopping list, together with treating his family – including his two daughters, Megan, aged 22, and Tiffany, aged 24, along with 27-yearold son Joe.
Graham, who lives in a one bedroom rented flat, says he has no intention of moving, but may look to put some money from his win towards buying the property.
He also plans to buy a new van for his fishing gear.
He said: “Never did I believe when I walked into the shop on my way home from work that I would become £300k richer.
“You always hope you will win – and I would have been happy with £300.
“You just think the big wins always happen to other people but not this time. This has happened to ordinary me – and could literally happen to anyone. It really is just totally amazing.”
Graham bought the winning National Lottery Scratchcard at the One Stop in Price Avenue, Sandbach.