A gran who won £1 million on a National Lottery scratchcard retired from her work as a warehouse operative as soon as she received confirmation of her new millionaire status. Sandy Doyle, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, stopped at the local shop on Sunday morning to fetch her newspaper and returned home with two winning scratchcards – one earning her £10, and the other £1 million.
The 58-year-old believes the best part of her win will be the freedom to spend more time with her family. “Once home, I popped the kettle on for a cup of coffee and decided to scratch my scratchcards,” she said.
“When I revealed the £1MIL sign on the first Match A Million, I didn’t believe it so I put it to one side and played the other… I saw I had won £10 on that scratchcard, which I did believe. I then looked back at the other one, rubbed my eyes and signed the back just in case.
“I’m an early riser so it was nerve-wracking waiting for the National Lottery phone lines to open at 9am… I called one of my daughters who didn’t believe me – to be fair, I’m not sure I did either.”
Ms Doyle will be helping her children and grandchildren with the money and is already planning a trip to the beach, as well as a visit to Las Vegas. “I think the first treat for us all will be a trip to the beach for Easter holidays where we can have fun and take some time to plan the future,” she said.
“I’m OK where I am currently, but in the future I’d like to buy a bungalow. I have a cousin in Atlanta, Georgia, who I haven’t been able to visit in the last two years, so a holiday over there and a road trip to Las Vegas are definitely on the cards.”
Ms Doyle, who picked up her winning scratchcard from the One Stop shop in Netherhampton Road, Harnham, said the win will allow her to “cherish precious moments” with her father, who she cares for.
“I didn’t retire to swan about living the millionaire life,” she said. “I help care for my father, and that was always a juggle with work – now thanks to this amazing win I will have more time to cherish precious moments with him.”
Ms Doyle added that the £1 million may help fund her passion for watching rugby. “I’m also a big rugby fan and have only been able to watch England at Twickenham once, so there will certainly be more trips to watch them, as well as watching the Rugby World Cup in France next year.”
The Match a Million scratchcards offer a one in 3.45 overall chance of winning a prize, ranging from £5 to £1,000,000.
