National Lottery winner thanks shopper for queue jump

A plasterer who scooped £1m on the Lottery after claiming his ticket at the last minute has thanked a shopper who let him go first in the queue. Arron Walshaw, 32, and his fiancee, Ceri Hall, 23, from Ossett, West Yorkshire, won the Lotto Raffle prize on Wednesday.

Had the other customer not let him go first, Mr Walshaw believes he would have missed the deadline for the draw.

He and Ms Hall are now planning their “dream wedding”.

‘Stroke of luck’

Mr Walshaw said: “We had a free lucky dip ticket from the previous draw to use and I knew it was only minutes until the draw closed.

“I popped in to a nearby shop where me and another lady approached the same cashier, she must have seen that I was in a rush because she insisted I went before her.”

He added: “What a stroke of luck that turned out to be.”

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Mr Walshaw bought a ticket and that evening the couple counted their collection of pennies and were “chuffed” to find they had £50 for a camping trip. The following day they discovered they were millionaires.

“I don’t think I would have been in time to buy my ticket if she hadn’t let me go first,” he said.

“We would love to meet her again and say thank you for changing our lives!” –BBC