Mum whose £12m winning lottery ticket was thrown away by shopkeeper can now claim jackpot under one condition
A UK mum whose winning lottery ticket was chucked in the bin will finally be able to claim her life-changing windfall – as long as no one else comes forward.
Earlier this year, Kath Main came forward to reveal that an unclaimed £12 million from a 6 June jackpot was hers, after noticing the winning numbers - 8,10, 26, 30, 35, and 42 - were the exact same as the ones she always puts on.
However, in a devastating turn of events, it was revealed that the mum-of-two's ticket had been binned at her local corner shop in Abercynon, South Wales, after she was told it was not a winning ticket.
Recalling the gut-wrenching mix-up in a previous interview with The Sun, Kath explained that she'd phoned her mother after reading an article about unclaimed lottery winnings in her local area.
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"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'," she explained.
"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, '£12 million'. She said, 'It can’t be, the ticket’s in the bin'."
It later unfolded that Kath's mum Fiona had decided to allow the tickets to be binned at her local corner shop after being told neither were winners.
Life-changing winnings can now be claimed if no one else comes forward
Following Kath's claim, a 30-day investigation was launched by National Lottery operator Allwyn, which has now concluded.
According to a new update from The Sun, Kath will be able to claim the £12 million winnings as her own – as long as no one else comes forward to claim the cash before 3 December.
Which means the 46-year-old and her husband Marcus now have another 16 weeks to wait before the cash will be in their pockets.
Despite the excruciating wait, Kath plans to spend some of her winnings on travelling to New Zealand for a Lions rugby tour.
"I just feel sick all the time, it's the not knowing and waiting," Kath previously said of the wait to find out the result of the investigation.
What has National Lottery operator Allwyn said about the incident?
In a previous statement to LADbible, Allwyn confirmed that an investigation into Kath's case was underway.
"The National Lottery is the only major lottery in the world that allows players to claim a prize if a winning ticket has been lost, stolen or destroyed," a spokesperson said of the incident.
The operator explained that its claims process is designed to make sure winnings are given to the correct ticket holder.
"Our priority is making sure that every prize is correctly paid to the right person."
LADbible has approached Allwyn and Kath Main for further comment.
Topics: UK News, National Lottery, Money
Brenna Cooper