Mum's surprising act after $1.7 million scratchie score

A mum-of-two stayed to finish her care home shift after finding out she had scooped A$1,794,729 on a lottery scratchcard.

Care home assistant Sara Thomas, 26, of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had nipped to the shop on a break from work when she bought the lucky card.

But she was left in shock when she scratched it at work and it revealed she had won a huge £1 million (AA$1,794,729).

Sara asked her colleagues to call The National Lottery to make sure her jackpot was not a prank.

She then dealt the happy news to partner Sean Warner, 28, who also thought it was a joke.

“I popped to the local shop on my break to buy some bits and grabbed a scratchcard whilst at the till," Sara said.

"I don’t buy them often but I did get one a few weeks ago as a treat and my partner Sean jokingly said to me, ‘don’t buy them, you won’t win anything'.

“I scratched it at work and revealed that I had won £1m. I was gobsmacked.

"I called the girls I work with and they thought I was joking. No-one believed me, even I didn’t believe it really.

"I asked one of my colleagues to call The National Lottery for me with the phone on speaker as I thought it was a prank and I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

"When Camelot confirmed the win we were all screaming. I could not believe it, it still hasn’t sunk in," she said.

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'Didn't want to let the girls down'

Despite the excitement, dedicated Sara stayed to finish her shift because the care home was short staffed.

“When I spoke to Sean and my dad they thought I was joking. My dad said he needed to see it to believe it was real," she said.

"They both said I should leave work for the day but we were short staffed and I didn’t want to let the girls down so I stayed until 7pm.

"The rest of the day was a bit of a blur."

Sara has spent the pandemic working while also home-schooling her five-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.

And she still has no plans to quit her job despite her scratchcard success.

“I love my job and want to continue working. The patients appreciate you being there for them when they can’t see their family and it’s just really comforting knowing that you are putting a smile on their faces," she said.

"We have great banter. It’s nice to know you are helping someone and making a difference. It has been tough, but I wouldn’t change it.”

The mum said she would like to own her own business one day after already training as a hairdresser.

The couple now plan to buy a family home with a large garden for the children with their winnings.

“The first thing I am going to do is pass my driving test. I will buy myself a nice Jeep when I pass but I will probably drive Sean’s car for a while first, just in case my luck runs out and I ruin the car as soon as I buy it," Sara said.

“Everyone is just really pleased for me and it feels really good, I don’t have this kind of luck normally. Sean’s cousin, Jordon Morgan, won £70,000 on a National Lottery Scratchcard a couple of years ago - I am starting to think Sean might be the good luck charm.”

Sara is one of a string of National Lottery players celebrating a win on Easter weekend.

Eight prizes of £1m or more were won in both the EuroMillions draw on Friday and the Lotto draw on Saturday.

Six winners have already claimed their prizes - meaning there are still two missing millionaires.

Sara bought her winning 50X Scratchcard at a Londis store in Treharris, South Wales.

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