Mom's trashed £12M lottery ticket gets a stunning second chance

What started as a lottery nightmare could finally have a very happy ending. A woman who believed her £12 million winning ticket was accidentally thrown in the trash by a store employee has received a major update after weeks of uncertainty. Now, she is one step closer to collecting the life-changing jackpot.

Lottery ticket accidentally thrown in trash by store employee

The issue began when Kath Main, 46, noticed no one had claimed the £12 million National Lottery jackpot. Main checked the winning numbers — 8, 10, 26, 30, 35, and 42 — and they matched the numbers she's been playing for 20 years.

Main said the numbers are a combination of her birthday, her husband's birthday, her and her husband's ages when they started playing 20 years ago, and two random numbers.

However, her mother buys the tickets for her. When Main checked with her mother, she said she did buy a lottery ticket that week, but she had the ticket checked at a Londis in Abercynon, South Wales, and it was not a winner.

What took place at the lottery retailer? Kath's mom said the clerk scanned the ticket, said there was no winner, and then asked if she wanted the ticket back. Since it wasn't a winner, she told the worker to just throw it in the trash.

When the mom and daughter finally determined the error that was made, the trash had already been emptied.

Kath then reached out to Allwyn regarding the situation. She provided Allwyn with proof of purchase and local doorbell footage showing their movements since the CCTV footage at the store was not working at the time.

Allwyn stated it was more than likely a human error and not a machine error, but they needed to do a 30-day investigation.

The investigation is now complete

Allwyn, the operator for the National Lottery, launched a 30-day investigation. They have now concluded that Main will be able to claim her win — with a stipulation! She can claim it as long as nobody else comes forward with the winning ticket before December 3, 2026.

Main, the secretary of a rugby club, has said she “feels sick all the time” waiting on a potential payout. With the winnings, she wants to use some of it for a Lions rugby tour of New Zealand.

A spokesperson for Allwyn told The Independent, “We are the only major lottery which [sic] is able to look to pay a winner even if they have lost their ticket.”

As far as the investigation they conducted, Allwyn stated:

The investigation we conduct is designed to ensure any claim is from the rightful ticket holder. We are then able, at our discretion, to pay that player once the claim period has expired, 180 days after the draw.

That is exactly what they plan on doing. Once the claim period expires in December and no one else tries to claim the £12 million jackpot, then Main will be paid.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.