Advie woman wins £100,000 on new health lottery
AN ADVIE woman who forgot she had bought a Health Lottery ticket which subsequently won her £100,000 is planning a dream holiday to see the Chinese Terracotta Army.
Forty-eight-year-old support worker Caroline Wright became the second top Health Lottery prize winner in Scotland and the 10th in the UK but didn’t realise her good fortune for days.
Mrs Wright, who is married to MOT tester Steven (47), explained: "Steve had heard on the radio that the missing winning ticket had been purchased from the 24-hour Tesco Extra at Inverness Retail Park on October 25 and declared on October 29 and he immediately rang me to tell me to check my lottery ticket.
"I checked my Euromillions ticket but when none of the numbers matched I thought nothing more of it, but he later reminded me I’d bought a Health Lottery ticket too. When I checked the five numbers on the Health Lottery website on Wednesday (November 2) I couldn’t move for about half an hour. I was gobsmacked!"
Mrs Wright and her husband, their son Paul (19), and daughter, Charlotte (18), have barely come down to earth since. She was flown to London from Inverness with Charlotte to claim her winnings from The Health Lottery headquarters on Friday (Nov 4).
Mrs Wright said: "I have done lotteries for years but never won anything before now. I fancy going to China on holiday next year to see the Terracotta Army as it’s something I am fascinated by. That’s certainly something we couldn’t have afforded to do before."
She added: "I will keep doing the Health Lottery as the money raised through it goes to really good causes."
Sarah Tinsley, Head of Marketing for The Health Lottery, was delighted that the 10th winner had been found after days of endless searching. "It’s fantastic that we’ve managed to track Caroline down" she said. "We want everyone to experience the thrill of winning and wouldn’t have stopped searching until we had found her. I can’t bear the thought that out there people have won a prize but just haven’t realised."
Since launching on 27th September, The Health Lottery Scheme has made great strides in benefiting people by supporting local health causes, and communities across Scotland are set benefit from around £5 million of funding a year.
The Health Lottery’s game structure is straightforward, easy to play and prizes are not shared. Players can win from £50 for 3 balls, £500 for 4, through to a top prize of up to £100,000 for matching all 5 numbers from 50.
Tickets cost just £1 and can be purchased online and through electronic payment terminals at 40,000 retailers across Great Britain, including all leading multiple grocers along with thousands of independent retailers up and down the country.
