Forgetful punter is first to scoop two wins in lotto draw

A LOTTERY winner explained yesterday how forgetfulness led him to become the first individual to win two British jackpots on the same night.

Derek Ladner forgot he had already bought his ticket for the draw on July 11 and bought another one using the same numbers. The mistake turned out to be the most fortuitous of his life as the numbers came up and he claimed two £479,142 (€711,336) shares of the top prize.

Mr Ladner, 59, and his wife, Dawn, 60, said they would spend some of the £958,284 on house renovations at their home in Redruth, Cornwall, and a luxury holiday in Tenerife.

After confirming the winning ticket, he did not realise he had a duplicate and a second jackpot until a week later.

“The first time I was watching a late-night film and afterwards, at about 1am on the Friday, I thought I would check the lottery,” he said.

“My birthday and Dawn’s birthday were there and we had won.

“A week later I checked the lottery again. When the numbers didn’t come up I went to put the ticket back in my wallet and saw another ticket with Wednesday, July 11, on it and realised it was a duplicate. It has not really sunk in yet.”

The couple are overjoyed at the timing of the windfalls as Mr Ladner, a delivery driver, is due to retire tomorrow.

He said he plans to put some money aside for his family and is looking forward to a comfortable retirement.

“The two wins could not have come at a better time,” he said.

“We had already made a lot of plans for our retirement together. This win means we can now really enjoy ourselves a lot more and treat our friends and family.”

Ms Ladner said she hoped to fulfil a dream of travelling to New York.

“I just can’t believe it,” she said of the windfalls.