A father who popped out to buy a burger finished his lunch break £1 million richer after picking up a scratchcard as well.
Craig Haggie, 36, from Liskeard, Cornwall, is celebrating his jackpot lottery win after purchasing the card from a Spar on Fore Street, Callington, while waiting on his takeaway.
And now, Mr Haggie and his wife, Zoe, 33, – who previously appeared together on TV show Homes Under the Hammer – are planning to demolish their bungalow and build a dream family home to share with their four children.
The win even means Mrs Haggie, who works as a cleaner, is planning to reduce working hours and instead, hire her very own cleaner for the new place.
Recalling the moment he hit the jackpot, Mr Haggie said he had time to kill while waiting on his lunchtime grub – so he popped to the shop, bought a drink for his brother and two scratchcards for good measure.
But when they returned to the office of their family-owned business, WCL Storage Systems, they could never have predicted what was to come.
‘I went out for lunch and came back a millionaire,’ said the 36-year-old.
‘It was absolute pandemonium, my family were jumping around the office screaming while my first thought was ‘where’s the safest place to keep the scratchcard?’
Craig Haggie (left) from Liskeard, Cornwall, is celebrating the incredible lottery win after purchasing a National Lottery scratchcard while waiting on his takeaway lunch
Mr Haggie and his wife, Zoe (right) – who appeared together on TV show Homes Under the Hammer – are planning to demolish their bungalow and build a dream family home to share with their four children
The win even means Mrs Haggie, who works as a cleaner, is planning to reduce her own working hours and instead, hire her very own cleaner for the new place
‘My brother and I decided I should keep it close, literally, so we put the ticket in a plastic bag and taped it to my body!
‘We must have looked crazy mad as he held the roll of tape, and I twirled around to make sure it was stuck securely to my body.
It didn’t last long as I quickly got very sweaty, and it wasn’t staying stuck to me so we settled on keeping it in a saucepan on the top of a kitchen cabinet instead.
‘You clearly don’t think straight when you find out you’re a millionaire.’
Mrs Haggie was in the middle of a shift when her husband broke the news – which she initially believed to be a prank.
‘Craig is always winding me up so I just didn’t believe him,’ she said.
‘I was at work cleaning a client’s house, and I had to finish before I could leave and meet Craig. I remember thinking, ‘is this real?…has our life really just changed forever?’
‘I finished the house in record time – never has a carpet been hoovered so quickly.’
‘I went out for lunch and came back a millionaire,’ said Mr Haggie, who told how he had time to kill while waiting on his lunchtime grub
But when she realised the news was real, Mrs Haggie told how she ‘sat on the floor and cried’ with joy.
She added: ‘It was just the relief that we could finally sort our home out and get a bedroom for all the kids.
‘We love where we live – it’s a beautiful spot and the neighbours are brilliant but the bungalow isn’t big enough for the six of us.’
Mr and Mrs Haggie, who have been married for six years, have four children aged between five and 11.
They purchased a two-bedroom bungalow at auction nine years ago, and even featured on ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ with the intention to renovate.
The couple said they had been saving hard but were still some way off making the dream of the perfect family home a reality.
But after becoming millionaires, Mrs Haggie said she already has a sketchbook full of plans for their new family home and is ready to put their newfound money to use.
