Story of a Damaged Lottery Ticket

Lotto Alerts | 24th Nov 2016

It’s every lottery player’s worst nightmare – seeing the winning numbers then realising your ticket’s been lost or damaged. Usually, a quick root around the back of the sofa or in your coat pocket produces it reasonably quickly, but what if the family dog’s digested your ticket or you’ve accidentally put it through the wash?

A Worcestershire woman claimed to hold the winning ticket for a £33m lottery win but blamed the lack of barcode, date, and serial number on the fact it had been through her washing machine. The frustrated female told the shop where she’d bought the ticket that she’d tried to dry it out, and was advised to send it to Camelot for further investigation.

Eventually, the rollover prize of £66m was shared between two tickets – one-half went to a couple from Hawick while the other half went to an anonymous winner from Worcester – after Camelot officials determined that the washing machine winner was a fake.