A dad found himself an unexpected millionaire after discovering a winning lottery ticket he had unknowingly left in his unlocked car for four months.
Darren Burfitt, 44, from Swansea, UK, regularly kept his lottery tickets in the central console of his battered Citroen DS4—unlocked because he joked it was “a shed on wheels held together with mud,” and therefore, “almost no value.”
Despite persistent nudging from friends urging him to check his tickets, Darren only discovered his life-changing prize when retrieving a half-eaten packet of crisps for his four-year-old son.
He said: “I couldn’t quite believe it when I did …. I still cannot believe it now.”
“I just kept looking at the date and then the matching EuroMillions Millionaire Maker code. I just could not comprehend what I was seeing!”
The ticket was from the October 18, 2024, EuroMillions draw. Initially, Darren was excited about winning £3.60 on another ticket but was stunned when the crumpled, unreadable one turned out to be the elusive £1 million winner.
Darren’s immediate reaction was a mix of joy and anxiety, realizing the ticket could have easily been lost or taken from his unlocked vehicle.
Darren remarked: “I dread to think what could have happened to that winning ticket!”
After calming himself, Darren nervously shared the news with his wife, Gemma, whose initial reaction was panic, mistakenly thinking something had happened to one of their children due to Darren’s shaky voice.
Gemma, 34, a teaching assistant, said: “I just could never imagine having this much money – it is an unreal feeling.
“I have to keep pinching myself; it feels like a dream which I will wake up from!”
The family, including their six-year-old daughter, now dreams of buying their first home and upgrading their family car.
Darren is particularly keen on purchasing a new pick-up truck to replace his worn-out Citroen.
“I keep dreaming of a trip to see the Ashes in Australia, but a pick-up truck is first on the list,” Darren explained. “The kids will love the pick-up, and it will enable us to go on even more adventures as a family.”
Gemma, equally thrilled, added: “We love our lives and enjoy great caravan holidays, but this just takes things to another level and allows us to do even more as a family.”
