Hospital worker sells her car to best friend for £1 after winning £1m on the lottery

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A hospital worker who didn’t realise for months she had bagged £1 million on the National Lottery offered her car to her friend for simply £1.

Deborah Burgess, 56, from Leicestershire was “a millionaire for months but did not know it” as she was in hospital after falling in poor health with power anemia in August.

In October, she lastly checked her lottery tickets after being prompted by an electronic mail and realised she had received the life-changing sum.

Rather than splurging her winnings immediately, she purchased herself a second-hand car and offered her present Peugeot 2008 to her best friend Louise Smith for simply £1.

“I’ve bought a new car. It’s not brand new, but a nice Hyundai. I wasn’t going to sell my car but my friend wanted to buy it from me,” she stated.

“She wanted to pay the proper price but because of the win I sold it to her for just a pound. It feels wonderful to be able to do such a thing.”

The medical data administrator purchased a batch of Lotto tickets again in August 2023 and received on the August 19 draw, however didn’t get round to checking her emails due to a hospital keep.

Recalling the second she discovered about her life-changing win, Deb stated: “I had finally got around to catching up on things after a tough few months and was checking my emails at home – there were so many after not going online for a while.

“I noticed I had one from The National Lottery with a reminder to check my account because I was a winner, so I checked my account with my Mum there and then. I had the shock of my life when I did check my account.”

Deb initially thought the electronic mail might have been a rip-off, however was lastly in a position to get round to having the win confirmed in October 2023 earlier than jetting off on vacation to Corfu.

She stated: “I asked my mum what she thought and, with neither of us able to think that clearly after such an incredible shock, she told me to call the police to check if there were any scams going around.

“I called them and they reassured me, so I then phoned The National Lottery and the man on the end of the phone confirmed the win was in fact real.

“Funnily enough, I still didn’t think it was real until a lady from The National Lottery actually turned up on my doorstep to confirm everything and pay me my winnings!”

“So, I guess that the moral of the story is to regularly check your National Lottery account. I was a millionaire for months but didn’t know it!”

Top of Deb’s want checklist is a visit to Hawaii. She can also be changing a bed room into a toilet for her mum and is having new backyard fencing fitted after the gales tore them down. She can also be planning on spending extra time at her vacation house in Cornwall, utilizing a few of her winnings to additional furnish and renovate the pad.

She can also be going to assist her son after he graduates from college this summer time. “It’s an important year for Nathan academically but life after university is important too and with the win I can hopefully help him with whatever he wants to do.”