Mansfield couple win £1 million on scratchcard thanks to lucky pet cat

‘If it wasn’t for Shortcake we wouldn’t be millionaires’

Nottingham Post reports that one Notts kitty will be getting ALL the treats after helping his owners win £1 million on a scratchcard.

Mansfield couple Andrew and Paula Hancock say they will be taking life a little easier after bagging the jackpot and have promised to pamper pet cat Shortcake, whose forgotten food they credit for their good fortune.

Forty-six-year-old Andrew, who runs catering company Jaspers, with his wife, 43, had intended to pick up something for the ginger tom’s dinner on his way home from work on July 24 – but it completely slipped his mind.

His decision to take Paula’s car to Esso Fuel Station, in Old Rufford Road, Ollerton, to fill up the tank and grab the forgotten food would prove to be life-changing.

“While paying for the fuel I just bought a Monopoly Millionaire scratchcard because I’d won £100 twice on the same card recently,” says Andrew, whose shopping list now includes new cars and paying off the mortgage.

“I decided to scratch the symbols on the scratchcard while sitting in the car at the petrol station before going home. “I looked and looked again and started to get a bit hot when I realised I had won. But I wasn’t 100 percent and I didn’t know what to do. Should I call The National Lottery to see if I had won the prize there and then, because I could be wrong, or go home to do it with Paula?

“I decided to go home and called Paula as soon as I walked through the front door. I don’t usually swear, but I did, and beckoned her over to check the ticket with me. After checking the ticket quite a few times and just staring at it I called the National Lottery Line to claim the prize.”

The couple then drove to Paula’s sister, Vaneita, to tell her of the good news. By this time it was late evening but after more calls to Paula’s parents the whole family went back to the Hancock’s home and sat outside celebrating until the early hours.

Paula says, “Andrew couldn’t stop singing and jumping up and down, I was the same but burst into tears when I saw my mum and dad.”

To be on the safe side the couple hid the scratchcard in a Gordon Ramsay cookbook for safe keeping until a winners’ advisor from The National Lottery visited the couple to validate the win.

In all the excitement Andrew confesses he’d yet again forgotten to grab something for Shortcake’s tea and only had a slice of ham for his dinner that night.

They will be making it up to the lucky feline however.

Andrew says: “I’m sure Shortcake is going to be treated. If it wasn’t for Shortcake we wouldn’t be millionaires.”

The couple, who have built up their catering firm over the last seven years and now employ 10 people, are looking forward to winding down a bit following the win. Andrew says: “We work long hours and never switch off. Winning this amount of money will let us take it easier so we can enjoy not just the winnings but relax a bit more in life in general.”

Andrew and Paula are planning a trip to see relatives in Australia and they also are thinking of booking a trip to see the Olympics in Japan. Andrew says: “Our 12 year old son Xavier is a green belt in judo and enjoys competing, we want to take him to see the Olympics in Japan, the home of judo.”

(Story source: Nottingham Post)