A road worker could not believe his luck after scooping £1 million on a £5 lottery scratchcard.
But Carl Crook has vowed to go back to work despite his new-found fortune.
The
25-year-old broke down in tears of joy and excitement after winning the
jackpot during a lunch break in Manchester city centre.
The
civil engineering worker was carrying out upgrades on Oxford Road on
Thursday when he popped into a local shop to buy a drink and a scratch
card.
And the father-of-two said he couldn’t believe his eyes when it revealed he had hit the jackpot.
He then called his work pals over to make sure it was genuine.
Carl, from Rochdale, told the Manchester Evening News how he started ‘screaming and roaring’ at the top of his voice when the news sunk in.
He said: “It’s only once in a blue moon that I buy a scratchcard but I had a feeling that day and decided to have one more go.
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Carl Crook did cartwheels in the city centre
“I asked the shopkeeper for a £10 scratchcard but he said he
didn’t have any and only had the £5 ones. I was scratching the numbers
off and knew I had at least won my money back or got a tenner.
“I
then revealed the last number slowly and saw it said £1 and the letter
‘m’. I showed it to the two lads I was working with and kept saying
‘check that, check that’.
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Carl Crook could not believe his luck
“I then went back into the shop and said ‘I’ve won a million, I’ve won a million’.
“The shopkeeper just smiled and said ‘I can’t pay that’ and told me to contact the number on the back. Read more:
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“I
was shaking like mad and I was put on hold for what felt like years.
The lady finally told me ‘I would like to congratulate you. You have won
£1 million’.
“I had my phone on speaker and all my workmates
were around me. I just screamed ‘YES’ at the top of my voice. I had so
much joy and excitement, I was crying.
“In a way it was really
unfortunate for my friend as we got another scratchcard each in the
morning and we said if one of us won then we’d go halves.
“Everyone was in a happy, buzzing mood and I was on Cloud 9.
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The £1million scratchcard
“I called my fiance and tried to tell her what happened but
kept breaking down. She didn’t believe me and I had to send her a
picture of the scratchcard to prove it.”
Carl, who works for
Kenny Bros civil engineering firm, said he was unable to work for the
rest of the day and his pals had to stay 90 minutes later to pick up his
workload.
The former Heywood Community High School pupil then returned to work at 6.30am on Friday for a 12-hour shift.
He
said: “I just kept thinking to myself ‘why am I here?’ But I do enjoy
my job, the company I work for and the people I work with.
“I’ve
already spoken to my boss about having next week off so I can let things
settle down. I will be staying on at work but without overtime.
“A
lot of people have been congratulating us. Friends I’ve known for a
long time kept saying they couldn’t believe it and I was a jammy sod and
just having a joke and a laugh.
“I think it’s the way we have
won the money as well. No one would ever believe you could win that
amount on a £5 scratchcard. How rare do you see it?”
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Carl Crook, from Rochdale, who won a £1m jackpot on a £5 lottery scratchcard
Carl, who has an eight-year-old son and six-month-old
daughter with fiance Samantha Dyson, will meet with Camelot bosses on
Tuesday and said they are determined not to ‘blow’ their winnings.
The
keen golfer has already eyed buying an expensive new car, moving from
their home on Manchester Road and treating his family to a few luxury
holidays.
He said: “It’s not about us retiring now. It’s about us
being able to live comfortably without the pressure of life weighing
down on us.
“Our kids will have their inheritance sorted and we won’t need to have a 30-year mortgage.
The man was seen celebrating wildly in Manchester city centre
“I’m a boy and I like my toys and cars and I’m looking at getting a really nice car. I’ve always wanted an Audi RS7.
“We are just working class and whenever I saw this car before I always used to say I’d love that one day.
“But
now we will have this money the market of cars we could get is so big. I
genuinely don’t know if I will get that or something else. But there’s
going to be no rush.
“When we told our son he was saying ‘we are millionaires’. He loves supercars and wants to go out in a Ferrari.
“We
are going to go on holiday this summer and to Lapland at Christmas. I
would love to take the family to Florida and we might do that next year.
“Myself
and Samantha got engaged last year and we want to get married this year
and then go on a Safari tour in Africa for our honeymoon.
“The
£1 million might go but we want to at least spend it on making memories
instead of spending it on rubbish. We are not going to blow it.”
Samantha, 26, who works as a child minding assistant, said the money is ‘life changing’ for their family.
The worker was not hiding his joy
She said: “He rang me to tell me what happened but I didn’t
believe he. When I saw on Facebook that people were saying he did
backflips and cartwheels I couldn't believe that, I knew it wasn't
something he could do!"
“The whole thing doesn’t feel real. It’s
one of those things that you see happening to other people but never
think will happen to you.”
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