Euro Millions Win Sets Mother Up For Life

A lucky woman from Cambridgeshire scooped £838K win on the lottery in December but it was only in January, a whole month later before she realised she had a winning lotter ticket.

Ms Hanitzsch, a 55-year old mother of two grown children was juggling working days at the council in her district with night shifts at Morrisons supermarket. How did she win? By matching all five main numbers plus one Lucky Star in the EuroMillions draw on December 2.

“I did have two jobs which was very tiring,” she said. “The win means I’ll be able to have some of that time back and also help my family financially. With the extra time I now have, I can plan to do the things I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Nobody Believed Her Win!”

Before her shift at her second job, Ms Hanitzsch would often buys snacks and a lottery ticket and while waiting to start, she would check her tickets from previous lottery draws and this how she discovered she had won almost £1million!

Recalling her win, Ms Hanitzsch said: “It was on a Saturday shift in January when I had a couple of minutes and thought I’d check my tickets. I rarely check them because I never think I’ll win but asked a colleague to scan and she said you need to call the National Lottery now and sign the ticket.

I thought she was joking but I called during my break before returning for the rest of my nine-hour shift, knowing I was £838,000 richer. Then all of a sudden lots of other staff members started to arrive at the kiosk asking about the win. Word had got round that someone had won big… and it was me.”

When news of the win had sunk in, the lucky woman phoned her son who initially thought his mother had “lost the plot” …

…and a call to her daughter also had the same reaction. Nobody believed she had won such a vast sum of money on the lottery (at first!). “When I got home I was so tired I just went to bed,” said Ms Hanitzsch. “But we did celebrate as a family the following night with a takeaway curry.”

The 55-year old lottery winner has no plans to quit her job with the council, in fact, she still worked out her shift of 5 consecutive nights at Morrisons on the week of her win before deciding to down tools and concentrate on her other job. She said she will continue working at Cambridge City Council, adding: “I’m only 55, I love my job and my colleagues at the council. When I told my supervisor she cried. That’s how much of a team we are.”

Ms Hanitzsch added: “I’m now debt free, I’m buying a home having lived in social housing for years. I’m going to help Jack and Sophie to get onto the property ladder, buy a new car, probably a new Ford Fiesta as I don’t need anything bigger, go on a few holidays and plan the big trip to Japan. I just love Japan, the lights, the automated machines, the cartoons, sumo, the food. I’ve never been and it has always been a dream I thought I’d never be able to fulfil.”

Source: “Cambourne Mother who Worked Two Jobs Wins £838K on Lottery”. BBC News. March 8, 2023.