I won a £1 million jackpot but almost lost it all with the push of a button

A MAN has revealed he won a £1million jackpot – but lost almost all of it with the push of a button.

William Mullarkey and his wife Catherinette from Coventry were on the verge of losing a huge amount of money after a big mistake.

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William, also known as Bill, was moments away from deleting an email announcing he had won £1million on the Euro Millions Millionaire Maker National Lottery.

But his luck turned when his granddaughter insisted he click on the email – and he discovered the life-changing win.

The twist in the couple’s fate began while they were vacationing in St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, on June 27, 2017.

Bill saw the email from lottery company Camelot, but did not check it until he returned to Britain almost a month later.

After realizing they had won the eye-watering amount, the couple started “screaming and dancing” around their living room.

The shocked winner said at the time: “We couldn’t believe it when we saw a message pop up saying ‘Congratulations, you’re a winner’ and we couldn’t comprehend the number that appeared on the screen.

“I spoke to a young lady on the phone and waited for a few minutes, which felt like forever, and then she said we had won £1 million.

“At that moment there was so much excitement in the house and a lot of shouting.

“We celebrated that with one Nice cup of tea and I didn’t sleep all night it just wouldn’t penetrate.”

The lovebirds, who have been married for 25 years, are now debt-free and plan to spend the money on a second home in the Caribbean.

‘MIND-BLOWEND’

The 57-year-old added: “It’s completely life-changing and what I can’t ignore is that we are now debt free.

“I buy a ticket online every week, so you can’t forget to buy it that way.

‘We can pay off the mortgage and plan to base ourselves in St Lucia for part of the year and also keep a house in Coventry.

“You buy a lottery ticket and you dream what it would be like to win, but for this to happen to us is simply mind-boggling.”

The millionaires also planned to support their 26-year-old nephew, who was paralyzed after a cycling accident.

They planned to finance changes to his home and buy a customized car to improve his daily life.

Bill works as a caterer at a Sainsbury’s call center with his wife, whom he met while working in a hotel.

He added: “We always wanted to build in St. Lucia, but in 2002 we came here for a holiday.

“Within two weeks she hit it off with my family and we stayed because she wanted to see some snow.

“We haven’t actually seen one, but maybe I can take her to the Alps now.

“Messiah is a very cheerful person and the money what he can have now will change his life.”

It comes as a man revealed his sister made £61million in the EuroMillions but hasn’t given him a single penny.

In an unexpected twist, winner Debbie Nuttall finds herself embroiled in a long-running family dispute with her estranged brother Glen.

HOW TO WIN THE LOTTERY

EARLIER this year, math experts David Cushing and David Stewart came up with a way to guarantee they could win lottery money.

The mathematicians based their theory on the British lottery game Lotto, in which six random numbers from 1 to 59 are chosen.

Their theory can technically be applied to other similar lottery games around the world.

This may seem life-changing, but the victory won’t necessarily be great every time.

Players select six different numbers between 1 and 59.

They can win a prize if they match at least two of the six numbers drawn.

The experts came up with a series of numbers, which meant that 27 tickets would guarantee a cash prize their research.

The study stated: “The minimum number of size six tickets required to match at least two balls in a size six draw is exactly 27.”

Fewer than 27 tickets may result in a loss.

Dr. Stewart explained: “Fundamentally there is a tension that comes from the fact that there are only 156 entries on 26 tickets.

“This means that many numbers may not appear often.

“Eventually you see that you can find six numbers that do not appear together on any card.

“In terms of graph theory, we ultimately prove the existence of an independent set of size six.”

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