‘Britain’s unluckiest couple’ bought £3m lottery jackpot – but never saw a penny

A mum is waiting to find out if she will be awarded a £12m National Lottery jackpot after a shopkeeper reportedly binned her ticket – and ‘Britian’s unluckiest couple’ will know just how she’s feeling

A mother faces an agonising 30-day wait to learn whether she will be £12million better off — after a shopkeeper disposed of her ticket.

Kath Main, 46, recently discovered online that the June 6 jackpot remained unclaimed, before recognising the winning numbers matched hers.

Nevertheless, she alleges her mum originally took the ticket to a Londis in South Wales where staff informed her it wasn’t a winner, before the shop owner threw it away.

The store owner has subsequently acknowledged the machine may have been malfunctioning, and an inquiry is now underway.

Kath now endures a 30-day wait to learn if National Lottery operator Allwyn will grant her the prize money she believes she won, and she admitted she now feels “sick all the time”.

While she waits, she might examine previous cases. That brings us to ‘Britain’s unluckiest couple’, who previously found themselves in a comparable predicament which resulted in a heartbreaking conclusion.

Martyn and Kay Tott

Martyn and Kay, from Hertfordshire, purchased a winning National Lottery ticket worth a life-altering £3,011,065 in 2001.

Yet, following the initial excitement of discovering their numbers matched, they subsequently searched frantically for the physical ticket.

And with the National Lottery draw having taken place six months earlier, the nightmare of the circumstances quickly materialised when they realised it had vanished.

They entered the same numbers every week, so they remained certain they had won and verified with their local shop that they purchased the ticket before attempting to claim their windfall from Lottery organiser Camelot.

However, they were oblivious to a crucial regulation stipulating that lost tickets must be reported within 30 days, meaning they had already missed the deadline.

They endured a 45-day wait for an official response, and the devastating news left them reeling.

At the time, both Sir Richard Branson and Tony Blair urged the lottery to award the couple the prize money, after the story dominated the headlines.

Despite spending five years pursuing the funds through the courts, justice proved elusive for Martyn and Kay.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Martyn, who would have been 33 when the saga unfolded, told the Mail on Sunday: “Having that money taken away was torture.

“For a long time I lost sight of who I was and what I believed in. But I can honestly say I’m glad I didn’t get the £3million now.

“There is no guarantee it would have brought me happiness.”

The pressure of the situation also took its toll on their relationship, ultimately proving insurmountable.

Martyn said: “We’d only known each other for two years and the Lottery ordeal quickly highlighted our differences.

“All we did was bicker. Sadly, both of us agreed we should split and Kay moved out.”

Following Kay’s departure, Martyn resigned from his job and subsequently penned a novel entitled Six Magic Numbers, drawn from the turbulent events that had turned his life upside down.

He found solace in religion and in 2003 met American woman Tanya. He relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she introduced him to a church led by a “self-appointed Apostle”.

However, upon discovering that members were required to hand over 10% of their earnings to the leader, he made his way back to the UK.

He took his case against Camelot to the High Court in 2007, only to be warned he would face a £400,000 bill in Camelot’s legal costs should he lose.

Subsequently, when his wealthy backer Jonathan Bunn withdrew his support, it dawned on him that he would never see the money.

His book was published two years later.