Dudley man, 22, wins £250k with National Lottery scratchcard

Luke Ashman, aged 22, a loss prevention officer at TK Maxx, won the jackpot on the National Lottery’s Multiplier Orange Scratchcard which he bought from Asda in Brierley Hill.

Luke Ashman

In fact, it was a double whammy win for Luke - as on the same day he went on a first date...having waited until the lockdown rules allowed for a trip to pubs and restaurants.

He said: “I had the day off from work and even though I was supposed to go food shopping I fell asleep on the sofa. When I woke, I dashed to the supermarket because not only had I got to get the groceries, I had my first proper date that evening with a girl I’d recently started seeing.

“Even after my daytime nap, I was still tired, so I bought myself an energy drink and while at the counter I bought a couple of National Lottery scratchcards.”

When back in the car, Luke decided to look at the scratchcards and see if he had been lucky.

He said: “I scratched one with no luck. I then tried the second and scratched a diamond, then a win symbol - I saw £250,000 but wasn’t sure whether it was a full stop or a comma. When I double checked and saw the amount and I had won the top prize my heart was thumping and I literally started to shake."

Luke described his journey back home as a bit of a blur and he said: “I somehow drove home, stumbled along the drive, opened the front door and started to shout out to whoever was home. I was met by my mum who was worried having heard me call out, thinking I had been in an accident.

“We checked over the scratchcard together before I then called The National Lottery to check if I had won and that I was £250,000 richer. I immediately called my dad and messaged my three brothers with my amazing news.”

And after all of the excitement Luke had to focus on his first proper date with his girlfriend.

He said: “We’ve been speaking and seeing each other since the beginning of the year but obviously haven’t been able to go out on a proper date.

"She normally catches the bus home from work, but I went to pick her up and couldn’t wait to tell her my news. She didn’t believe me at first until I showed her the winning scratchcard.

“That night we went out for a meal, I ordered a bottle of Prosecco and we celebrated an amazing day of both a lottery win and a first date. You could say I’d won twice in one day.”

Luke Ashman

He hopes to celebrate his win further on his forthcoming birthday and he added: "It’s then my dad’s 50th and my three brothers have special birthdays too, so we’ll wait until after June 21 to get together with lots of family and friends and have a fantastic party.”

Luke, who has been furloughed at times during the last year, revealed he plans to use the money to set up his own property development business.

But first he wants to treat himself to a new car.

Having spent time travelling across the USA, he's set on getting himself an American muscle car - a Ford Mustang.

Luke Ashman

Luke, a keen snooker and tennis player and qualified football referee who has been juggling his security job with his studies as a final year criminology degree student at the University of Worcester, bought his life-changing National Lottery Lucky Numbers Scratchcard on April 22.

The £2 scratchcard offers a 1 in 3.90 overall chance of winning a prize. Prizes range from £2 up to the top prize of £250,000.

Thanks to lottery players, more than £42billion has been raised and distributed to National Lottery Good Causes through more than 625,000 individual grants.