A mother-of-two is in line to receive a life-changing £12million lottery jackpot after her winning ticket was allegedly thrown away by a shopkeeper by mistake.
Kath Main, 46, says the ticket carrying her jackpot numbers ended up in the bin after it failed to scan as a winner at a Londis store in Abercynon.
After reviewing the case, National Lottery operator Allwyn has determined that Ms Main should be paid the prize — provided no other valid claimant comes forward before December 3.
Ms Main, who lives in Pontypridd, South Wales, has already thought about putting some of the windfall towards a Lions rugby tour to New Zealand. But while she waits for the claim deadline to pass, she said she feels “sick all the time”.
The 46-year-old had entered her regular lucky numbers — 8, 10, 26, 30, 35 and 42 — for the Saturday draw held on June 6.
When she later noticed that the huge prize had still not been claimed, she contacted her mother, Fiona, who buys the family’s tickets every week, and asked her to check the numbers again.
Her mother, however, believed there was no chance they had won because when she took the ticket to the shop, staff told her the machine had not detected any prize.
Kath Main, 46, from South Wales, says she held a £12million winning lottery ticket but only learned of the apparent jackpot hours after a shopkeeper had thrown it away.
The 46-year-old had played her usual lucky numbers of eight, 10, 26, 30, 35 and 42, for the Saturday draw on June 6
She agreed for the shopkeeper to throw the ticket away – with Ms Main only realising it was a winning ticket hours after the bin had already been emptied.
The shop, meanwhile, does not have any CCTV because it is being renovated.
Speaking to The Sun, Ms Main said: ‘I just feel sick all the time, it’s the not knowing and waiting.
‘I’m trying not to think about what I’d do with the money in case I don’t get it.’
Londis owner Karan Kumar added: ‘It would be amazing if she won.’
A spokesman for Allwyn said: ‘We are the only major lottery which is able to look to pay a winner even if they have lost their ticket.
‘The investigation we conduct is designed to ensure any claim is from the rightful ticketholder.
‘We are then able, at our discretion, to pay that player once the claim period has expired, 180 days after the draw.’
Last month, more than 1.5million National Lottery players were urged to check their accounts as £7.5million in prizes has gone unclaimed.
London has the highest concentration of unsuspecting winners – with more than 200,000 players sitting on hidden winnings.
Some previous players have also managed to scoop big prizes after initially losing their tickets. Builder Andrew Clarke was able to claim £76million in 2018 despite misplacing his ticket for six weeks.
He eventually found it in the visor of his van after his partner and niece heard about the unclaimed prize on the news.
At the time he said: ‘It almost feels like some magical Christmas story, the man who nearly lost £76 million!’
Father-of-five Amo Riselli also scooped a £24.5million jackpot after losing his ticket for two days. The taxi driver had accidentally left it in the glove compartment of his car before realising his success.
Despite only matching five numbers, he eventually took home a cheque for £24,501,283.
