'Unluckiest couple in Britain' break up after losing £3million Lottery ticket
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A married couple broke up after losing their winning £3million lottery ticket.
Martyn and Kay Tott realised they had won the multi-million pound prize six months after the 2001 National Lottery draw.
They saw an appeal for winners to come forward and noticed their weekly numbers had secured the jackpot.
But tragically the couple had lost their winning ticket.
The Totts - who lived in a two-bedroom semi in Watford - soon became known as the "unluckiest couple in Britain".
They were then tasked with the challenge of proving their win to Camelot.
They proved Kay had in fact bought the ticket by obtaining computer records from their local Londis.
But the couple had breached a little-known National Lottery rule that lost tickets must be reported within 30 days.
The Totts waited 45 gruelling days before being told they would not get their prize.
The case gained national attention with public figures like Sir Richard Branson and Tony Blair urging the lottery to award the multi-million pound prize.
But Camelot didn't budge and the couple's misfortune put an incredible strain on their marriage, The Sun reports.
Martyn also spent five years trying to get his hands on the payout in court.
He later said he was glad they never got the money.
"Having that money taken away was torture," he told the Mail on Sunday.
"For a long time I lost sight of who I was and what I believed in. But I can honestly say I’m glad I didn’t get the £3million now.
"There is no guarantee it would have brought me happiness."
Earlier this year a Hertfordshire couple lost out on a £182million EuroMillions jackpot.
Rachel Kennedy, 19, and Liam McCrohan, 21, were left “absolutely heartbroken” in March after claiming their ticket payment had not gone through.
The couple, from Hertfordshire, realised their usual numbers of 6, 12, 22, 29, 33, 6 and 11 had come up but there was one major catch - their ticket payment hadn't gone through.
They had played the same numbers for five weeks in a row, before all seven digits appeared in the draw.
Rachel explained how she had set up her account to automatically buy a EuroMillions ticket for each draw - but when payment for the winning ticket was attempted, the lottery account did not have enough funds.
Checking her account after the draw, she was greeted with a message saying her numbers were a "winning match" - however, her heart sank when she realised the glitch, The Sun reported.
