Derry mum gets 'warm fuzzy feeling' from dream Scratchcard win

Stephanie Harkin will take her two young sons to Disneyland after an amazing win while out buying gifts for a school charity project. She was in her local Tesco store with her mum, when she decided to pick up a Diamond Riches Scratchcard from National Lottery GameStore.

Stephanie, from Drumahoe in County Londonderry said, "I’ve always dreamed of winning a lot of money but never really thought it would happen to me,"

While in the shop she bought the card which turned out to be life changing. "Once I saw the three diamonds, I knew that I had won a large amount as I’d played this card before, but I didn’t want to get too excited," said Stephanie. "I checked the amounts on the card and kept telling mum quietly that I'd won a hundred grand. I kept my voice down as I didn't want to make a scene but I was completely shaking all over and couldn't even remember the pin number to unlock my phone and call my husband."

Husband Kieran, a mechanic who runs his own business, didn't believe her and told her to go to the checkout desk. "The girl behind the counter looked at my card and got visibly excited before telling me that she couldn't pay me as I'd won £100k!" described Stephanie. "I had to calm myself down before I was fit to drive, then drove home to Kieran and we called the National Lottery straight away, who confirmed that we had won!"

The New Year will now bring a dream family trip to Disneyland Paris, as well as a sunshine break to Benidorm. "We had a truly lovely Christmas, made all the better with that warm fuzzy feeling that a hundred grand in the bank can give you," said Stephanie. "Now we can’t wait to get away on holiday – especially our trip to Disney for the first time, as I know the boys will absolutely love it."

"It's still hard to take it all in," concluded Stephanie. "The most I've ever won before is £10 so this win really is a dream come true for me. You never think that it'll happen to you but I'm proof to everyone out there that it can!"