A MUM became a millionaire without her knowing about it as she missed a key email and then called the cops thinking it was a scam.
Hospital worker Deborah Burgess, 56, from Wigston, Leicestershire, pocketed a huge £1million in Lotto prize money but didn’t realise as she had to spend time in hospital.
The Medical Records Administrator at The Spires Hospital, was told by nursing colleagues she looked unwell in late September last year and suggested she had some tests done.
The initial findings showed low iron levels and suspected anaemia and Debs was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary for further treatment.
She was diagnosed with chronic anaemia and was admitted, staying over a week after having treatment and a blood transfusion.
Back in August 2023, Debs bought a batch of Lotto tickets online via the National Lottery app.
She didn’t initially get around to checking her emails from The National Lottery which would have told her that she had a winning ticket from the draw on August 19.
I was a millionaire for months but didn’t know it
Deb Burgess, Lotto winner
She said: “I don’t play The National Lottery every week but when I do, I buy maybe a month’s worth of tickets via my online account.
“I don’t check my account regularly and I was then poorly for a while, including time spent in hospital.
“I then had a holiday to help with my recuperation so it was months before I actually checked my emails.”
Recalling the moment she found out about her life-changing win, Deb said: “I had finally got around to catching up on things after a tough few months and was checking my emails at home – there were so many after not going online for a while.
“I noticed I had one from The National Lottery with a reminder to check my account because I was a winner, so I checked my account with my mum there and then.
“I had the shock of my life when I did check my account.
“I asked my mum what she thought and, with neither of us able to think that clearly after such an incredible shock, she told me to call the police to check if there were any scams going around.
“I called them and they reassured me, so I then phoned The National Lottery and the man on the end of the phone confirmed the win was in fact real.
“Funnily enough, I still didn’t think it was real until a lady from The National Lottery actually turned up on my doorstep to confirm everything and pay me my winnings.
“So, I guess that the moral of the story is to regularly check your National Lottery account.
“I was a millionaire for months but didn’t know it.”
After confirmation of the win, Deb told her son Nathan, 21, who was as shocked as she was.
The two of them, together with his girlfriend and Deb’s mum Patricia, then sat in the living room sipping champagne.
Deb was finally able to get around to having the win confirmed in October 2023 before going on holiday to Corfu.
After working through the festive period and New Year she then visited her holiday home in Cornwall.
She said: “The last few months have been a blur – Illness, then going back to work, holidays, Christmas, New Year – I just couldn’t find the time to celebrate and I was very conscious of monitoring my health.
“But finally getting hold of that big cheque and spraying champagne like a Formula 1 driver has been well worth the wait.”
Top of Deb’s wish list is a trip to Hawaii.
She is also converting a bedroom into a bathroom for her mum and is having new garden fencing fitted after the gales tore them down.
Deb is also planning on spending more time at her holiday home in Cornwall, using some of her winnings to further furnish and renovate the pad.
She said: “I bought an old cottage in Cornwall before the win but haven’t been able to spend much time there or money on it.
“Thanks to the win, I’ve been able to reduce my working week to Monday to Thursday so fingers crossed I’ll be able to squeeze in some long weekends to head down there.
She is also going to help her son after he graduates from university this summer.
Debs added: “It’s an important year for Nathan academically but life after university is important too and with the win I can hopefully help him with whatever he wants to do.
“I have already booked a holiday with Nathan and his girlfriend to Hawaii after he graduates.
“I’ve always wanted to go there – it just sounds so exotic.
“We hope to swim with dolphins, go snorkelling with sea turtles and then zoom down a zip wire through the jungle. We are going to pack in loads.
“ It’s going to be a holiday of a lifetime.”
Deborah has also bought a new car, having sold her old one for just £1.
She said: “I’ve bought a new car. It’s not brand new, but a nice Hyundai. I wasn’t going to sell my car but my friend wanted to buy it from me.
“She wanted to pay the proper price but because of the win I sold it to her for just a pound. It feels wonderful to be able to do such a thing.”
Whatever money is then leftover Deb will invest it for the future.
Deborah bought her ticket via the National Lottery app.
She matched five numbers plus the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on August 19, 2023.
Her winning numbers were chosen via a combination of birthdays, birth years and a random number.
The winning numbers were 2, 7, 17, 28, 31, 37 and the Bonus Ball was 8.
The National Lottery generates £30m each week for projects across the nation.
So far, 685,000 grants have been made and more than £48billion raised for good causes.
