Mum whose £12m lottery ticket was thrown in the bin by shopkeeper WILL scoop jackpot – but faces anxious wait

A LOTTERY player whose £12m ticket was thrown in the bin WILL scoop the jackpot – if no one else claims the cash. Kath Main says her winning numbers were binned by a shopkeeper after the ticket failed to register on a machine. Kath Main had her winning lottery ticket thrown away Credit: Facebook Shop owner Karan chucked Kath’s winning ticket away Credit: Marc Giddings Operators Allwyn have now concluded a 30-day investigation into the incident in Abercynon, south Wales. The Sun can reveal the mum-of-two rugby club secretary is now on course to be handed the life changing sum. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! But only if no one else comes forward to claim it before December 3. Kath and hubby Marcus now have an agonising wait for the cash. Kath plans to take a trip to New Zealand with her cash prize Credit: Facebook She told The Sun she “feels sick all the time” as she awaits the payout. The mum-of-two, 46, plans to spend some of the money on going to a Lions rugby tour of New Zealand. Kath had played her usual lucky numbers for the Saturday draw on June 6. Her winning numbers; 8,10, 26, 30, 35, and 42, are based on her and husband Marcus’ birthdays, her and Marcus’ age when they started playing, and two random numbers “to make it up to six”. Most read in Money Lottery play is now suspended at the Londis in South Wales Credit: Marc Giddings Kath Main must wait till December to collect her winnings Credit: Facebook But when her mum, cafe owner Fiona checked the result at the Londis in Abercynon, south Wales, the owner said she had not won and chucked the ticket in the bin. Days later Kath was gobsmacked to read in The Sun that the jackpot prize had been scooped in her area of Rhondda Cynon Taf but had not been claimed – and the winning numbers matched hers. Shop owner Karan Kumar previously said: “The woman came in to check the numbers and there was no beep on the machine, nothing came up on the screen, so we just binned them. “It would be amazing if she won.” A spokesperson for Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “We are the only major lottery which is able to look to pay a winner even if they have lost their ticket. “The investigation we conduct is designed to ensure any claim is from the rightful ticketholder. “We are then able, at our discretion, to pay that player once the claim period has expired 180 days after the draw. “We are proud to pay out millions of prizes as well as raising over £33M for Good Causes each week.” Court battle, fraud & rapists By Alex West THE National Lottery has seen numerous wrangles over prize sums. Charlotte Cox, 39, ditched Michael Cartlidge, 41, weeks after the couple scooped £1million on a scratchcard. She bought the card in Spalding, Lincs. Security engineer Michael said he suggested the purchase and tried to transfer money to her in the shop. Camelot, which ran the Lottery at the time, launched a probe in 2024 and indicated the winnings would be split. Allwyn then took over the Lotto and awarded Charlotte all the prize. Michael has begun legal action for half the cash. In 2019, beggars Mark Goodram and Jon-Ross Watson, both from Bolton, fraudulently used a stolen debit card in London to buy scratchcards — with one winning £4million. They never received the cash and instead were jailed for fraud. Camelot was fined £3million for accepting a fraudulent £2.5million claim by rapist Edward Putman. He conspired with Giles Knibbs to forge a winning ticket in 2009. Camelot insider Knibbs, 38, who had access to the numbers of unclaimed winning tickets, took his own life in 2015 after confessing the crime. Putman was then jailed for nine years in 2019 for fraud. And rapist Iorworth Hoare won £7.2million on the Lotto in 2004 — buying the ticket on day release while serving time for attempted rape. Comment now