Grandad, 80, wins EuroMillions prize after forgetting glasses

An 80-year-old man has bagged more than £100,000 in the EuroMillions after forgetting his glasses and being unable to pick his regular numbers.

Denis Fawsitt would normally use family birthdays for his weekly ticket, but as he could not see, went for a lucky dip instead.

Mr Fawsitt said it "turned out to be one of my best decisions ever".

He and his wife Ann, 75, are planning to make over their Derbyshire home and garden with the £116,124 winnings.

The pair play the EuroMillions every week and buy their tickets from the Co-operative store in Station Road, Hatton.

Mr Fawsitt said: "I realised I had forgotten my glasses and tried to pick my numbers, but I just couldn't.

"I went to pay for my papers and asked the lady behind the counter for a lucky dip."

The retired couple matched the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number on 16 March.

Mr Fawsitt added: "After what happened in the newsagent, I had this funny feeling we were going to win. I said to my wife Ann that evening that I felt we were going to win big."

The following morning the now-bespectacled prize winner could not believe what he was seeing and returned to the newsagents.

They checked his ticket and told him to call Camelot, which his daughter Sally did on their behalf.

Mr Fawsitt said they "went into shock" when they heard the news, with Mrs Fawsitt stressing there was no dancing or champagne popping, "especially with Denis's bad back".

"Denis had a drop of whisky and I had a small sherry," she said.

"We then put the lucky winning ticket in the living room cabinet for safekeeping before the people from the National Lottery were able to validate the ticket.

"When the win was confirmed, we did have a glass or two of fizz, and when this horrible Covid has gone away and it's safe, we'll have a big family party to celebrate."

Mr Fawsitt, a retired builder and coal miner, said his vision was to use the winnings for a full garden makeover, as a back injury suffered a few years ago had limited his ability to tend it himself.

He said the spec-tacular payout would also allow them to buy a new TV.

Meanwhile Mrs Fawsitt, who previously worked at KP Snacks in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, said she was eyeing up a new electric cooker and foam mattress.

However the pair, who have two daughters, two grandsons and a granddaughter, said most of the winnings would go to their family.

"We can treat ourselves to a few nice things but, most importantly, give a lot to the family," she said.

"We've had our time, it's theirs now… this money will help them more than us."

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].