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Man Died Before Finding Out He’d Won Share Of £7.9M Lottery Jackpot

Man Died Before Finding Out He’d Won Share Of £7.9M Lottery Jackpot

His heartbroken daughter discovered her dad had won after his death

A man tragically died before finding out he’d won on the Postcode Lottery. 

Andrew Gillon, who was 59, had broken his neck after falling down the stairs at his friend’s house on New Year’s Day. 

On 7 January, he underwent surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow to take pressure off the break but sadly died unexpectedly. 

His heart-broken daughter Lisa Thomas, 32, said the family have been left devastated by the sudden death and are still coming to terms with what happened. 

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Following his death, Lisa said she was shocked to discover her dad had been sent a gold envelope - along with other plays on his street - revealing he had won a share of £7.9 million on the Postcode Lottery. 

Speaking to the Daily Record, Lisa said: "I found out dad had won via his friend and neighbour.

"I thought there was no way he could have as I had blocked his bank account, so I presumed no payments would have been taken.

"My dad's played postcode lottery for as many years as I can remember.

"When I got it confirmed, I felt absolutely devastated at first.

"I could just hear the excited phone call from him telling me he had won and I know his first thought would be to book us all a holiday.

"Now I still feel sad that he's not here to enjoy this with us, but I also feel some excitement for him and I'm sure he has had something to do with this.

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"There's been so many 'signs' since he left us and I'm certain he is watching saying 'I told you so'."

Mum-of-three Lisa said she remembers laughing and joking with her dad at Christmas about the because the first Christmas card he received from from the Postcode Lottery. 

She said: "I was laughing at him for his first Christmas card being from them.

"All I remember him saying is, 'well you won't be laughing when I win!' and he was right I wasn't laughing, I was crying."

The Postcode Lottery announced earlier this week that hundreds of players within the ML20 postcode had been told they had won a share of the £7.9m jackpot. All winners will receive a minimum of £1000.

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Lisa is yet to find out how much her dad won, but will find be told at a special event being held this Saturday. 

"About Saturday- I feel emotional thinking about it,” she added. 

"Even if it's the minimum £1k my dad would have been over the moon.

It's hard to say I'm excited as my biggest emotion about it is sadness that he's not here to enjoy the excitement of the day with us, but we will be there thinking of him and thanking him."

Featured Image Credit: Mirrorpix

Topics: UK News