Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

National Lottery advises man who jokingly tried to claim £250,000 with scratch card to 'invest in some proper glue'

'Due to my clumsiness... I have also spilt pen ink on the other identifying number in the game column,' says man

Serina Sandhu
Thursday 04 February 2016 08:44 EST
Comments
'The extra £250,000 on the top right hand corner has been placed very carefully,' says the National Lottery
'The extra £250,000 on the top right hand corner has been placed very carefully,' says the National Lottery (Jonny Smith/Facebook)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The National Lottery has advised a man who jokingly tried to claim £250,000 with a fake scratch card to fire proof his home and "invest in some proper glue".

The amusing exchange, which has been shared thousands of times on social media, came after Jonny Smith posted an image of the scratch card complete with "accidental" fire damage and ink spills on the National Lottery's Facebook page.

“You can clearly see I have revealed [three] £250,000 figures in the end column meaning I should be able to start shopping at Waitrose in the near future," wrote Mr Smith, who is from Ossett, West Yorkshire.

He then went on to explain why the card was so damaged.

In the post which has been 'liked' by more than 43,000 people and shared more than 20,000 times, he said the barcodes on the reverse had been removed by a small fire.

“This completely accidental inferno has also damaged the game number on the front side," he added.

“I may also add that due to my clumsiness, in a completely separate incident I have also spilt pen ink on the other identifying number in the game column. Just my bloody luck eh!?”

He signed off the post asking the National Lottery to direct message him to confirm he was the winner.

Mr Smith's message to the National Lottery
Mr Smith's message to the National Lottery (Jonny Smith/Facebook)

Unfortunately for Mr Smith, the National Lottery, after investigating the image, decided not to hand over the winnings but did continue the joke about how the card became so damaged.

In a response on Facebook, which has been ‘liked’ more than 80,000 times, a spokesperson called Hayley pointed out that the fire was “very selective” and suggested Mr Smith fire-proof his home “to avoid such instances from happening again”.

“Furthermore, looking at the image very closely it has come to our attention that the extra £250,000 on the top right hand corner has been placed very carefully, however we recommend that you invest in some proper glue.”

The scratch card along with the National Lottery's response
The scratch card along with the National Lottery's response (Jonny Smith/Facebook)

She added: “We wish you every success in the future with our games – maybe, just maybe one day you will be able to shop at Waitrose.”

Mr Smith later posted on Facebook: “To summarise: I don’t think I’m getting 250k.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in