Life changing

Havant man retrieves a £1Million Scratchcard

A Storeman from Havant has got his paws on the top prize of £1,000,000 on a National Lottery Scratchcard – all thanks to his beloved dog, Ollie.

The lucky man, Patrick Morling, 60, and his wife Paula, 54, can’t believe that Ollie’s picky – eating habits which took Patrick for a quick trip to the supermarket – now means they can help out family and never worry about a bill again.

Every dog has its day

The millionaire adventure began when Patrick nipped out to the supermarket for Ollie’s favourite dog food.

“We’d already done our big shop earlier in the day but Ollie is very particular about his food so I had to go to a different store to stock up for him. As I was leaving, I decided on a whim to buy a scratchcard. I do like to play them from time to time and normally it’s a £2 one, but for some reason I decided to treat myself to the £5 Monopoly Classic,” Patrick explained.

Not one to mess about, Patrick stood to one side of the store and played his scratchcard there and then, matching a number on the first game and revealing a £1Million symbol.

“When I’d finished playing I got back in the queue and waited my turn before I handed it over to the Sales Assistant and asked her to verify it was actually a £1 Million winning scratchcard. Let me tell you, it created quite a disturbance in the store and I thoroughly enjoyed the hugs and pats on the back I received from the other shoppers who I think were in more shock than me.”

Sharing their good fortune

Heading home, with Ollie’s bag of dog food and a £1 million winning scratchcard tucked safely in his pocket, Patrick shared the news with Paula before he called Camelot. With the win confirmed, the pair immediately made plans to help out their two daughters.

“We rang our daughters and asked them to pop in, not telling them why. When my youngest and her partner arrived, knowing they were saving for their wedding, we asked them both to sit down and said ‘would you mind if we paid for your wedding?’ and then explained how it was suddenly possible. It was a brilliant feeling, made even better when our eldest daughter visited with her husband and this time we said ‘Is it okay if we give you the deposit for a new home? Needless to say, both answers were a resounding yes!”

Why not around the world?

Patrick, a Storeman for a local paper cup company, and Paula, a lunchtime Supervisor at a local school, are now excitedly planning some overseas trips.

“We have always wanted to go to New Zealand and had promised ourselves this trip for our 30th wedding anniversary earlier this year, but finances just wouldn’t allow it. Looks like instead we can do that trip for our 31st! Paula has family in Canada she has never met so that may be another trip, or perhaps we’ll save the back and forth and just go around the world instead!

“It really is magic. Who would have thought that a trip to buy Ollie’s dog food would have resulted in us chatting about paying for weddings, round the world trips and buying dream homes.”

15th November 2018

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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