The couple received an email while they were in Greece that changed everything
Margaret and John Campbell were on holiday in Rhodes at the time(Image: Anthony Devlin )
A couple celebrating their ruby wedding anniversary in Rhodes returned home to discover they were millionaires. Margaret, 60, and John Campbell, 73, from Liverpool, were on the Greek island when Margaret got an email from The National Lottery to say they’d won a prize on the EuroMillions last month.
Margaret had bought the couple’s usual EuroMillions Lucky Dip before they jetted off for a week of relaxing and swimming in the sun. But as players are unable to log onto The National Lottery app from abroad she assumed it was “£2.80, like it always is” and carried on enjoying their week in the sun.
They returned home at 4am and Margaret’s first thought wasn’t checking her win, it was to put a wash on and to get some sleep. It was when she woke later that morning that she finally got round to logging into her lottery account.
Margaret said: “I looked on the app and I’d only matched one number and it took me a few seconds to realise it was the Millionaire Maker code. I said to John, ‘I think I’ve won a million pounds,’ and he immediately said it must be a scam. I kept looking and thinking ‘this says I’ve won.’
“I called one of our two sons to say I’d won. When he arrived, I ran out of the door shouting ‘I have, I’ve won.’ He told me to get indoors before everyone found out.”
Margaret called The Allwyn, operator of the National Lottery and had the ticket details checked. She said: “The lady on the phone told me to get a pen and a piece of paper. She said write this down – one, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero. That’s what you’ve won, £1m. I was literally shaking, my hands were shaking.”
Margaret received an email from The National Lottery while the couple were on holiday(Image: Anthony Devlin )
The couple say they’ve found it hard to believe they’ve won even after the ticket was validated. Margaret said: “I said I’d believe it when it was finally in my bank account. The other day I went for a shower and when I came out there was the notification from the bank, a £1m deposit. It’s unbelievable.”
Margaret and John say they plan to use the money to “look after themselves and their family”. They said they’ll use it to help with paying for house and car loans and will ensure their two grown up sons are secure. They’ve also booked another holiday for August and are planning to get a new car.
John believes the win could have something to do with their dog, Kash, who sadly died shortly before they’d jetted off to Rhodes. John said: “He was a lovely dog and only six years old. Sadly, he wasn’t well and couldn’t be helped. We keep saying that is it Kash is looking down on us and bringing us cash with this big win.”
Kash sadly died shortly before the couple jetted off, now they believe he was behind them getting the win
Margaret won by matching the raffle code on the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker. Each ticket is given a unique code which is entered into a raffle, with a top prize of £1M. Margaret’s winning ticket matched the raffle code MQDD 67764 in the draw on Tuesday, June 24.
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