Very happy New Year for young lotto-winning couple from Strabane

2015 was always going to be a special year for Shane Woods and Lauren McCormack, both 26, as they are getting married in September but now it’s just got a whole lot better thanks to their life-changing win.

A new home, a new car and a very nice honeymoon are now all on the horizon for the couple.

Scaffolder Shane, who works with local company P. O’Neill Building Services, recalls how he purchased the winning scratchcard on Saturday December 20 at the Spar store on Urney Road.

“I had actually bought a scratchcard the previous day and won £5 on it so when I went back into the shop, instead of asking for the winnings, I asked for two £2 scratchcards and £1 one instead,” explained Shane.

“I went out to the car and scratched the cards. I was down to the last £1 card with two £5 amounts showing and two £100k amounts showing as I prepared to scratch off the last remaining number.

“To be honest I wasn’t even considering the fact that I could win the £100k – my only thought was that I might pick up another fiver. I really didn’t believe I could win that amount,” he added.

“When the final number revealed £100,000, I honestly couldn’t believe it. I checked the number of zeros a couple of times and was even asking myself if it was a fake!

“It’s actually a blur to me when I think back but I called my fiancee Lauren from the car and told her the news, then I drove up to the house.”

Lauren, who works for Customized Training in Strabane, wasn’t sure if Shane was being serious when she received the phone call.

“At first, when Shane phoned me, I thought he was pulling my leg,” said Lauren, “but I was still really excited and couldn’t wait to see him and find out if it was really true.

“When he arrived home, I could see he was shaking and he was white as a ghost so I knew it was true. I was squealing with joy and jumping around the place. It was amazing,” she added.

The biggest amount of money that Shane had ever won on a scratchcard prior to his big win was £40 while he also picked up £26 from a Euromillions draw a couple of years ago.

Shane said: “I called my boss to say that I wouldn’t be coming in as I had some visitors from Camelot coming to see me!,” he laughed. “All our family, friends and work colleagues are very happy for us and it’s a fantastic start for us both as we tie the knot in September.

“Most of the money will go towards buying a new house but we’ll make sure we book a special honeymoon and we’ve also been talking about a new car...I have my eye on a new Audi 5,” added Shane.

Shane’s winning scratchcard was a £100k Rainbow Scratchcard which gives players a 1 in 4.57 chance of winning a prize. The card costs £1 and prizes vary from £1 to the top prize of £100,000.

Earlier in December, by coincidence, another Lauren from Northern Ireland (Lauren McLarnon from Newtownabbey) also struck the £100k jackpot when she bought the very same card.

“It’s unbelievable, there is definitely something in the air,” said Shane.

“I actually heard about the other Lauren winning £100k on the news and remember thinking how wonderful it would be if we won that sort of money. And here we are today in the same boat.”

National Lottery Scratchcards create an incredible 559,501 winners every day.