A furloughed kitchen paint sprayer from Castledawson in Co Derry has won £300,000 on a National Lottery Scratchcard.
Robert Fullerton (30) - known to his friends as ’50 Bob’ (after the rapper ’50 Cent’) - bought the £3 ‘Treasure Bingo’ Scratchcard at his local Vivoxtra store in Castledawson whilst shopping on Monday May 4.
Mr Fullerton, a spray painter, and his wife Susan (25), a machine operator, had both been recently furloughed from the kitchen supplier they work for.
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He said he bought two scratchcards - one with a £3 win he had on a previous card.
“Half-way through, it was already showing that I’d won £300,000 and I started physically shaking," he said.
"I was thinking to myself, ‘that’s not right’ and had to get up and go outside for some fresh air.
“I showed the scratchcard to Susan and took a photo that I sent to my mum and sister – both of whom agreed that I wasn’t seeing things and that, as far as they could see, I’d won three hundred grand!
“After a restless night, with little or no sleep, I called The National Lottery the following morning. They asked for some details and then, I’ll never forget, the lady on the phone said… ‘Congratulations, you have won £300,000’!
“My reply was ‘you what?’ My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. In fact, I still can’t believe it. It’s like a dream come true, especially in these uncertain times when we’re stuck at home and don’t really know how our jobs will be affected by this coronavirus pandemic.”
Despite his big win, Mr Fullerton said he hopes to get back to work as soon as possible.
He plans to buy a house, go on holiday abroad and start driving lessons with his winnings.
“The biggest thing we’ll do with our winnings is buy a new house in the area,” he said.
“As a keen darts player, it’ll definitely have a ‘man cave’ with a dart board and a big TV.
“Also, we know it might be some time away, but when people are able to travel again, we’ll go on a holiday to Benidorm. The only times I’ve been abroad before were on school trips, so it’ll be amazing for Susan and me to fly off somewhere sunny.”
As a lifelong Liverpool fan, Robert says a new strip and a few trips to Anfield will also be on the cards.
“I’m a lifelong red,” he said, “so I’ll definitely be buying myself a new strip and making the trip across to Anfield a few times. If Susan supported Liverpool, I’d consider our own box at the stadium – but unfortunately she’s a Chelsea fan so that’s not really going to work,” he said.
