Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
World
Charles Wade-Palmer & Andrew Brookes

Teen thought she'd won £180million - but lottery ticket payment failed

A teenager couldn't believe her luck when her favourite numbers came up on a Euromillions draw - with a staggering £182 million jackpot. An overjoyed Rachel Kennedy and her boyfriend were already planning how to spend their sudden wealth, after she thought she'd bought a ticket for the draw on her online account.

Rachel, now 21, and her boyfriend at the time Liam McCrohan had picked their usual numbers - 6, 12, 22, 29, 33, 6 and 11 - for five weeks before they came up in the February 26, 2021 draw. However, the pair from Herefordshire were left distraught when Rachel called up to claim the prize.

Rather than banking their incredible nine-figure winnings, Rachel was told that her payment for the ticket had actually failed because of insufficient funds in her bank account. She told the Daily Star: "I called my boyfriend Liam and my mum into the room and they couldn’t believe it either so I was like, 'oh my God I need to call them'."

READ MORE: 'Help me find my dad' - daughter's plea to find father she has not seen for 30 years

Rachel continued: "I called the number thinking that I had won £182million and they said 'yeah you've got the right numbers but you didn’t have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket so it didn’t actually go through'. I was on top of the world when I thought I had won but when I found out I hadn't, Liam was actually more upset than I was."

Rachel and Liam were devastated to miss out on the £189million jackpot (rachelkennedyyx/Instagram)

Liam admitted that while Rachel was "quite relaxed about it", he had already spent the money in his head. He said: "I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard the man on the phone say we hadn’t actually bought the ticket. I was already picturing our dream house and the dream car, I think I was getting a bit carried away to be fair."

Camelot, which has run the state-franchised lottery since 1994, sent the Hertfordshire couple a "good luck" message for future draws this week. A spokesman said: “We’re aware of Rachel’s story and hope she gets in early to buy a ticket for the next big draw", adding that the company wished her "the best of luck in future draws".

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.