A woman from south Wales is facing an agonising wait to find out if she has won 12 million Pounds (Rs 153.65 Crores), after the shop that checked her ticket threw it away by mistake. Kath Main, 46, from Abercynon in Rhondda Cynon Taf, has played the same six numbers for 20 years, with her mother usually the one who buys the ticket for her. She only realised she might have won after seeing reports that a huge Lotto jackpot from the June 6 draw had still not been claimed.
Kath told the The Sun: "I saw there was an unclaimed lottery ticket and checked the numbers and realised they were mine. I rang my mother and said, You did put the lottery on? and she said "Yeah".
"I said, "Well we've won the lottery," and she said, "I checked and there was no winners." I said "No, it's a winner, we've won." She said "How much?" and I said, "12million Pounds." She said "It can't be, the ticket's in the bin."
The machine is said to have not beeped, and her mum claims the shop owner told her nothing came up on the screen, so she agreed for the ticket to be thrown in the bin.
By the time the pair realised what happened, the bin day had been.
Karan Kumar, who owns the Londis shop, said the machine used to scan the ticket may have been faulty, and that an investigation is now under way. He said it would be "amazing" if Kath turned out to be the winner.
National Lottery operator Allwyn confirmed it is looking into the claim, and said it takes its duty of care to players seriously. The company pointed out that the National Lottery is unusual in allowing players to claim a prize even if their winning ticket has been lost, stolen or destroyed.
Kath now has to wait around 30 days for Allwyn to make a decision. She admitted the uncertainty is taking a toll, saying she feels sick and is trying not to think about what she would do with the money in case the claim doesn't succeed. If it does come through, she says her first plan would be a trip to New Zealand for the British and Irish Lions tour in 2029.
