I won the life-changing Lotto amount but didn’t know it – the ticket was in an unlocked car

A WINNING Euromillions ticket worth a whopping €500,000 was left in an unlocked car for days before its owners realized they had won a big prize.

The large family syndicate purchased the lucky Quick Pick ticket from the Daybreak store at the Elm Court Service Station in Ballyneety, Co Limerick.

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The family claimed the huge prize, which they won in the EuroMillions Plus draw on Friday, October 10^e November, yesterday.

And as they collected their huge prize yesterday they burst out laughing and admitted the lucky note had been left outside their home in Co Limerick.

The father of the group said: “You won’t believe it. I left a ticket worth half a million euros outside the house in an unlocked car.

“I had no idea we had won. During those few days it was definitely the most valuable car in Limerick.”

He added: “We had heard about the win in Limerick but once I heard where the winning ticket had been sold I rushed to the car.

“I grabbed the card on the side of the car door and sure enough, there were five of the winning numbers all in a row.

“We are absolutely blessed that the ticket was still there. I’m just happy that I can now turn it in and finally have the lottery check in my hand on the way out the door.”

The lucky numbers in question were 17, 21, 28, 29 and 42.

The Limerick family plans to put their winnings to good use by making mortgage payments, but above all, it will be a family Christmas to remember.

The father said, “We’re a big group, so we won’t have much change left when we pay off our mortgages and other small loans we have.

“We will certainly enjoy the celebrations and have a very happy Christmas together.

“More than the money itself, it has been an exciting few weeks and to have this experience with the whole family is priceless in itself.”

Meanwhile, the National Lottery has confirmed that Friday’s EuroMillions jackpot is a GUARANTEED €200 million.

The National Lottery has advised players who dream of a big win in the draw on Friday, December 1, to buy their tickets early in the store, via the National Lottery app or online.

The ticket sales deadline closed on Friday evening at 7:30 PM.

In addition, a lucky Lotto player from the Midlands region won a whopping €263,000 in the draw on Saturday.

And Lotto chiefs have issued an urgent appeal to players in Co Laois to check their tickets carefully as they could be the winner of the life-changing prize.

The punter won the fortune after purchasing a Quick Pick ticket from the Maxol petrol station on Dublin Road in Portlaoise Town, Laois, on the day of the draw.

The Lotto player is guaranteed a week to remember after matching five numbers and the bonus ball in Saturday’s Lotto draw.

The winning numbers that yielded a whopping €263,000 were: 13, 17, 21, 22, 37, 42 and the bonus ball was 2.

However, Lotto bosses are calling on the successful player to come forward to claim their prize as they may not know their fortune awaits them.