Asda worker and fiancé scoop £1m after buying lotto ticket on 'a whim'

Asda worker and her forklift driver fiancé scoop £1m on EuroMillions after buying ticket on ‘a whim’ – and are finally planning dream wedding after 15 year engagement

• Ellie Land, 41, saw her fiancé by the lottery counter, prompting her to buy a ticket
• Ms Land, from Norwich, Norfolk, checked the app on her phone and saw she won
• She and Karl Ward, 43, are planning to buy a home after renting for two decades
• Despite winning the jackpot, the pair have said they will both continue working 

A supermarket worker won the £1million jackpot on the EuroMillions after buying a ticket on a whim and is now planning her dream wedding after a 15-year engagement.

Ellie Land, 41, from Norwich, Norfolk, was buying groceries when she went into her local Asda store to use the toilet. 

She emerged to find her fiancé, Karl Ward, a 43-year-old forklift driver, who was waiting for her by the counter which sold lottery tickets, which prompted her to buy a ticket for the draw that night.

Ms Land, who works at the store, realised she had won a EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker prize after checking the lottery app on her phone.

Ellie Land (right) bought a EuroMillions ticket on a whim after her fiancé Karl Ward (left) was stood next to the lottery counter

After being engaged for 15 years due to financial reasons, the couple are now planning their dream wedding

An NHS occupational therapist won £1milion on the National Lottery days before getting the all-clear from breast cancer.

Maxine Lloyd, 50, said she thought a phone notification she received during her first batch of radiography treatment was a message from her partner – but it was actually a note from her bank to say the winnings had been transferred into her account.

 The NHS worker from Kettering, Northamptonshire, said: ‘I feel really lucky. I’m here, I’m alive, and we’ve just had a bit of a cherry on the top of the cake really.’

The couple are now planning a big Christmas celebration, and to spend some of their winnings on getting married next year after a 15 year engagement.

Ms Land said: ‘We had popped into Asda on the way home from visiting friends to grab some bread and milk.

‘Karl waited for me while I went to use the bathroom, and when I came out he was by The National Lottery counter so I decided to get a EuroMillions ticket for the draw that night.

‘I don’t always play, just on a whim, so when my colleague wished me luck, I laughed and said ‘if I win something I’ll treat you.’

‘Little did I think then that we’d win £1 million, I’ll certainly be going back with a little something for her.

‘Thinking back on that day I keep laughing, I spent a penny and won a million.’

The couple who have two children are now planning to buy a new house as ‘a forever family home’ after two decades of renting.

The pair, who have two children, are also planning a celebration with family and friends, and going to Disneyland on their first foreign holiday. 

The couple, who have two children, are planning a celebration with family and friends, and going to Disneyland on their first foreign holiday 

Festive cheer: The couple are now planning a big Christmas celebration after winning the jackpot

Ms Land is also splashing out on a bottle of wine for her work colleague who sold her the winning ticket for the draw on November 4.

They only discovered the win on the evening of November 6 after returning home from a wine tasting event in Norwich.

Ms Land said she sat at her dining table to check her ticket by scanning its QR code and found out she had won as her children watched television and her mother made a cup of tea.

She shared the news with Mr Ward before her mum walked in and asked if they were OK after seeing their ‘very ashen and shocked faces’.

Ms Land then responded: ‘I’ve just won a million pounds!’

Mr Ward said: ‘It was a crazy moment. We just laughed and then sat in stunned silence.

‘We realised that the National Lottery claim line was closed, so agreed Ellie would call first thing in the morning and then ‘enjoyed’ a sleepless night repeatedly saying to one another, ‘Is this real?’

‘In the morning Ellie was worried about being late for work, I bet the lady at Camelot who took the call couldn’t believe how quickly she rattled through the details so she could get into work by 9.30am.

‘We have been putting off getting married purely because of the funds and having to spend it on children and living. 

‘Now we have got the money, we are happy to get married long at last. We are looking forward to Christmas without having to worry about money.’

Ms Land, who plans to continue working, said, ‘The wedding and a forever home are top of our list, but the children also have a few requests.

‘Our son is looking forward to receiving a PS5, just as soon as we can find one, while our daughter loves Disney so I think we will enjoy our first holiday abroad with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyland.’

‘I enjoy my job. I’ve been there for as long as I have known Karl, so I won’t be giving it up, although I will say keeping this a secret has been pretty challenging.

‘Many people have asked if Karl would leap at the chance to stop working – he’s been on night shift for six years – but he feels the same.

‘But thinking about it, perhaps we will take some time off here and there to go to France, or even further afield, for a little wine tasting in the vineyards as opposed to St Andrews Hall in Norwich.’

A father-of-five scooped £1million after taking his late mother’s advice to buy two lucky dips. 

Death, divorce and giving away millions to charity: What happened to UK’s previous biggest lottery winners 

Joe and Jess Thwaite were confirmed as the winners of Britain’s biggest-ever lottery jackpot – a huge £184m.

An anonymous ticket-holder held the previous record, taking £170million to the bank in October 2019 – one of only 14 players to have ever won a jackpot of more than £100million.

It is the second time lucky numbers came up in a EuroMillions jackpot for a UK winner this year, with £109million claimed a few days after a big win on February 4.

UK lottery winners have the option of revealing their identity or staying annoymous.

From the UK National Lottery’s rich list, only three winners out of the ten chose have previously chosen to reveal themselves.

August 2012: Adrian and Gillian Bayford

Jackpot:  £148m

Adrian Bayford and then wife Gillian, from Haverhill, Suffolk, pictured in August 2021 after it was announced they had won a jackpot of just over £148 million

In August 2012, Mr and Mrs Bayford won 190 million euro in a EuroMillions draw, which amounted to just over £148 million.

The couple used their winnings to buy a Grade-II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room.

But within a year their marriage ended and Gillian moved back to Scotland with her half share of the winnings, where she launched a property company. 

She has since remarried and had her third child with her second husband. 

Bayford remained in the Grade 2 listed property but after a series of relationships failed he put it up for sale and moved north to be closer to his children. 

January 2019: Patrick and Frances Connolly

Jackpot: £115m

EuroMillions lottery winners, Frances and Patrick Connolly pose during a photocall at the Culloden Hotel near Belfast, on January 4, 2019

Former social worker and teacher Frances Connolly and her husband Patrick won almost £115 million on New Year’s Day in 2019.

She has already given away £60million to charity, as well as sharing her winnings with her friends and family, saying she is addicted to helping others.

Mrs Connolly, 55, from Northern Ireland, has already busted the charity budget she agreed for this year with husband Paddy – and has given away what they would have donated up to 2032. 

She said helping others, whether with money or by volunteering her time, lifted people’s spirits during lockdown. 

The lottery winner has set up two charitable foundations, one named after her late mother Kathleen Graham in their native Northern Ireland, and the PFC Trust in Hartlepool, where the couple have lived for 30 years. 

The couple, who have three daughters – Catrina and twins Fiona and Natalie – are not extravagant with their wealth and Mrs Connolly has no desire to buy a yacht.

Their biggest expenditure after their win was a six-bedroom house in County Durham with seven acres of land, while Mr Connolly drives a second-hand Aston Martin, but Mrs Connolly scoffed at the idea of spending £13,000 on a console table. 

When she saw a TV show where someone in Monaco spent £25,000 on a bottle of champagne, she immediately thought that could have put a young person on the property ladder.

July 2011: Colin and Chris Weir

Jackpot: £161.6m

Chris and Colin Weir, who were later divorced, celebrate after winning jackpot of £161.6million in July 2011 – the then record for a lottery haul

Colin and Chris Weir, from North Ayrshire, bagged a jackpot of £161.6million in July 2011 – the then record for a lottery haul.

Mr Weir sadly died aged 71 in 2019, eight years after he won the jackpot. 

Mr and Mrs Weir, 62, were granted a divorce during the summer after 38 years of marriage. It is understood that they had been living apart for nearly a year prior to his death.

They had two children together, Carly and Jamie. 

Mr Weir was known for his support for the SNP and his love of Partick Thistle Football Club. 

He secured a majority stake in the Glasgow club in a seven-figure deal – and promised to give the 55 per cent shareholding to a fans group.

Mr Weir also helped the Jags to set up the Thistle Weir Youth Academy and a section of the club’s Firhill Stadium was named the Colin Weir Stand in his honour.

A former STV cameraman, he also made a donation to a community football club in his home town of Largs after setting up the Weir Charitable Trust in 2013 with his wife.

They had both been forced to give up work early and nursed each other through years of ill health before they became the 22nd richest people in Scotland after their £161,653,000 win.

Overnight, they entered the Sunday Times Rich List above Beatle Ringo Starr and singer Sir Tom Jones but shunned the lavish lifestyle decided to go on holiday to Brighton following.

One of the first items Mr Weir purchased following the amazing jackpot win was a checked sports jacket similar to the one worn by Scotsport legend Arthur Montford.

The couple ended up buying a number of homes, including for their son Jamie, who was working in a call centre, and daughter Carly, who was studying photography. They also bought homes for their close friends. 

Soon after the life-changing windfall, they moved out of their own three-bedroom home into Knock House – a mansion set in 23 acres of gardens and woods in the hills above Largs, complete with cinema, pool and stables. 

They bought it for £850,000 before selling it in 2016 to an overseas trust in a £1.4million deal.

They also went on to replaced their humble Suzuki for a £160,000 fleet of cars for the couple, their family and friends. 

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