A man from Ashbourne Derbyshire, who won a £20,000 UK National Lottery prize on his 81st birthday, believes the win could be a present from his late wife.
John Biddlecombe lost his wife Alice on July 2, 2014, but he feels she is still watching over him.
"With my wife passing away recently, and with it being my birthday I thought she must be doing something up there, it's just too coincidental," John said.
John purchased his ticket from his local Co-operative store and although he normally get the results via his TV he fell asleep on Wednesday and had no idea he'd won the Lotto Raffle prize until he checked his ticket on the internet the following morning.
Co-operative worker Bev Bates was almost as shocked as John when he handed her the ticket and asked to cash his winnings.
"He gave me the ticket and I ran it through and I just looked at it shocked," Bev said. "I called my supervisor Cheryl over because she had to authorize it and it was such a surprise. We were both really excited."
The payment was authorized at once and moments later John had the £20,000 check in his hand.
A dedicated lotto player, John admits to spending £30 a week on lottery tickets. He's never previously matched more than four numbers, but always hoped he would 'cream it' sometime and certainly looked like the cat who got the cream when he was pictured holding up his winning ticket on Thursday morning.
"I can't believe it. I'm absolutely thrilled," he said.
