A lucky pensioner has doubled his winnings after mistakenly buying two Postcode Lottery tickets, landing him a staggering £666,666. Allan Taylor, 65, believes he hit the wrong button while registering online for his subscription, opting for two tickets rather than one. But his error transformed into the "best mistake ever" when he received two cheques for £333,333 each.
His massive jackpot is the largest prize for an individual Postcode Lottery player so far this year. Allan, from Tupton, Derbyshire, said: "I must have ticked it twice. This was the best mistake I've ever made." His wife Bev, 62, recalled: "I remember asking Allan why he had two tickets, and he said, 'oh I don't know'."
Allan split a £1 million jackpot with another resident after the postcode S42 6AE scooped the lottery's weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday, May 30. Each ticket carried a value of £333,333. The win arrived after he had been yelling at the television when a Postcode Lottery advertisement appeared shortly before receiving notification of his victory. Allan remarked: "It was the night before and I was saying, 'I think they've forgotten our front door' after seeing the TV advert. Then, a few hours later we got the call."
His substantial prize arrived weeks after the pair took early retirement. Bev, who worked as a mental health nurse in an elderly dementia rapid response team, said: "I can't believe it. We both retired in March. We've worked all our lives. I loved my job, but it was very stressful. I wondered if I should have finished so early or stayed on until my state pension. We worked it out that it would be OK. My son kept saying, 'it's going to be big mum'. But I said, 'no it's not'. Now he's signed up."
Allan, a former building maintenance worker, said: "I thought, let's retire to make the most of our lives. I'm 66 this year and retired a bit earlier than my state pension age. Now I'm not going to worry at all. This is unbelievable. You never really expect to win. I'm absolutely speechless. If you come back in a fortnight, I might be able to tell you how I feel. This will blow everything out of the water. We were expecting a reasonable amount, maybe £10,000 to £20,000. But we were never in a million years expecting this. When I opened the second cheque my legs wouldn't work and I struggled. But it's a nice feeling. It's going to enable us to help other people which is what we've always wanted to do. We'll help a lot of family and friends."
The pair plan to spend a portion of their windfall exploring the globe and spoiling their loved ones. Bev said: "I've always wanted to go to Australia, but Allan said he would never go unless we fly business class. We like travelling. We went to the Maldives a couple of years ago. We'll do that again and Dubai. My son is getting married in three weeks - this might mean a bit of an extra wedding present." Motoring enthusiast Allan said: "I always wanted an Aston Martin, but I'm now at an age where I could get into it but I might not get out. Maybe a Range Rover now!"
Despite their sudden fortune, the pair are remaining in their cherished bungalow. Allan explained: "We're happy with life here and don't want to move. The community is wonderful. We have lovely neighbours and it's so nice, quiet and safe. This is where we wanted to retire to. We love it. I feel we couldn't be anywhere better than where we are now. Even if I won millions I wouldn't move. Everyone has genuinely been happy for us. It's humbling."
