A husband and wife who scooped a £1million EuroMillions prize thought they were being scammed before realising they had won the jackpot.
Graeme White, 35, and wife Katherine, 36, both police officers, were initially sceptical when they received a message on the National Lottery app about their enormous winnings.
But when the couple, who live in Cambridge, eventually matched the code on their ticket with the winning line and got a confirmation call from the Lottery, they realised they were millionaires.
Now Graeme and Katherine are hoping the fortune will allow them to reduce their working hours to spend more time with their five-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.
They are also planning to take the children on a magical holiday to Disneyland and splash out on their dream home in the country, complete with a new labrador puppy, chicken and goats.
Graeme and Katherine White (pictured), a husband and wife who scooped a £1million EuroMillions prize, thought they were being scammed before realising they had won jackpot
When the couple, who live in Cambridge, eventually matched the code on their ticket with the winning line and got a confirmation call from the National Lottery, they realised they were millionaires
Graeme said: ‘I play EuroMillions through The National Lottery app and occasionally get a message saying I’ve won something.
‘It’s usually a couple of quid, so when I saw the message I thought, “Great, that will pay for a lunchtime meal deal at work tomorrow”.
‘But when I opened the message, it said I had £1,000,000 plus £3.30. It had to be a mistake, in my head I thought you could only win a couple of quid or the big jackpot.
‘I’m a bit of a joker at times so when I turned to Katherine, and told her we’d won the EuroMillions, she didn’t take me seriously until she saw my phone.
‘With us both being police officers we see lots of scams, so we were a touch suspicious. Things like this don’t happen to people like us, it just couldn’t be real.
The busy parents then went about their morning routine as normal after their win on May 7 while they waited for telephone lines to open.
Graeme added: ‘We both work shifts but luckily that day we were off so we decided to walk into town while we waited for the call.
‘It was very surreal, I wanted it to be true but couldn’t let myself believe it. We both laughed at our first little upgrade – as we treated ourselves to a Nero’s instead of the usual Greggs coffee.
Now Graeme and Katherine are hoping the fortune will allow them to reduce their working hours to spend more time with their five-year-old daughter and three-year-old son
‘As we strolled around B&M absentmindedly the phone rang. I took the call and the guy on the phone confirmed the win and actually said “Congratulations, you’re a millionaire!”.
‘I looked at Katherine and she whooped and then welled up. I don’t know what the other shoppers must have made of us.
‘Our dream home can become a reality and we can start house hunting right away. It’s crazy to think, but our 20 year plan has now become our 12 month plan.’
The couple have already informed their police bosses that they will continue working but will reduce their hours.
Graeme said: ‘We’re only young and both enjoy what we do, so see no need to stop. But we have cut down our hours, which means we’ll have more of a work-life balance.
‘I also think it’s important for the children to see us working to instil a good work ethic.’
They are also planning to take the children on a magical holiday to Disneyland and splash out on their dream home in the country, complete with a new labrador puppy, chicken and goats
Katherine said: ‘We are big Disney fans, so a trip to Disneyland is definitely on the cards for us.
‘We’re all excited to get a Labrador puppy, especially the children.
‘We’ve already started to think of names, and obviously have some National Lottery inspired options on the list including Lottie and Millie.’