NEAR MISS
I scooped £3.6million lottery jackpot but almost lost it all because I was TOO careful – I’m so glad I ignored my mum
Joanne almost didn't claim her huge win
ONE lucky Brit revealed how she almost lost out on £3.6million in the National Lottery after her mum thought it was a scam.
Joanne Jobson from Hartlepool, County Durham, bagged the top prize on Set For Life and now gets £10,000 a month for 30 years.
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The hardworking carer admitted she almost missed out on the prize money after her mum believed it was a scam.
I remember just saying to mum ‘I think I might have won a lot of money'
Joanne Jobson
After Joanne logged in and found she had won an eye-watering amount of cash, she rushed to tell her mum, who she lives with.
"I jumped out of bed and went to tell my mum," she said.
Joanne, 51, added: "I remember just saying to mum ‘I think I might have won a lot of money’ and showing her my phone.
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"Mum was convinced it was a scam, so I googled the winning Set For Life numbers for the same date to see if they matched - which of course they did."
It was only when Joanne got through to staff at the National Lottery that she realised her life had changed forever.
At 51 this win literally changes everything for me, I now have peace of mind knowing I’m financially secure until I’m 81
Joanne Jobson
The lucky Brit is now set to splash her cash on a new home and luxury holidays.
Joanne, who cares for children with disabilities, said: "I’m so excited to be able to buy my own home and I have already started house hunting."
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After spending most of her life working nights and saving hard, Joanne now looks forward to being financially stable, as well as, the opportunity to have new experiences.
"At 51 this win literally changes everything for me, I now have peace of mind knowing I’m financially secure until I’m 81," she explained.
Joanne added: "I’m going from working nights and saving hard to being able to buy things when I want and plan holidays I could only have dreamt of before.
"I do like going on holiday to Spain, but now I’m looking forward to some more exotic destinations like Barbados and the Maldives - two places that have always been on my wish list."
The jackpot winner admitted that she played several National Lottery games but only started playing Set For Life five months ago.
She said: "I have the National Lottery app but don’t play any specific game regularly, I just play when I fancy it.
"I started playing Set For Life five months ago and generally only play a Lucky Dip when I do.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think when I played that I’d actually win - I didn’t think things like this happened to real people like me, but I’m proof they really do."
How to play Set for Life
Set for Life's top prize is £10,000 a month for 30 years.
To play Set for Life you pick five numbers from between one and 47 plus one Life Ball number from one to 10.
Then choose which days you want to do the draw and the number of weeks you would like to play.
You can play up to seven lines of numbers and buy up to 10 play slips at a time.
Draws happen every Monday and Thursday.
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