Teen missed out on £182million lotto jackpot for reason that could hit anyone

A teenager missed out on a massive, life-changing EuroMillions jackpot for an especially frustrating reason.

Rachel Kennedy’s numbers came through all present and correct on a fateful day in February 2021, but in the end it wasn’t a story to celebrate.

A student at Brighton University at the time, the now 21-year-old matched all seven numbers with her regular combination – but she never saw a penny.

READ MORE: Double lottery winner who bagged £4million hit 'rock bottom' after gambling it all away

From Wheathampstead, she and her fella at the time Liam McCrohan didn’t have enough cash in their account at the time direct debit was due to come out.

The sum was a heartbreakingly small £2.50.

The couple were encouraged to carry on by Camelot, the company that has owned the Lottery since 1994, and sent them a “good luck” message for future draws.

They had been so excited that Liam admitted he had already started spending the cash in his head on a nice motor and swanky abode.

Rachel and Liam had played their numbers – 6, 12, 22, 29, 33, 6 and 11 – five weeks in a row when they finally came in.

Someone had to pass on the news though, and that fell to a call handler at the Nationaal Lottery, who informed the pair of the terrible situation they had fallen into.

Guttingly, “winning match” had already popped up on their lottery account.

A spokesperson for Camelot said: "We're aware of Rachel's story and hope she gets in early to buy a ticket for the next big draw."

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Rachel told The Sun: "I called my boyfriend Liam and my mum into the room and they couldn't believe it either so I was like, 'oh my God I need to call them'.

"I called the number thinking that I had won £182million and they said 'yeah you've got the right numbers but you didn't have the funds in your account for the payment of the ticket so it didn't actually go through'.

"I was on top of the world when I thought I had won but when I found out I hadn’t, Liam was actually more upset than I was."

Liam said: "(Rachel) was quite relaxed about it but I had kind of spent it in my head already. I was absolutely heartbroken when we heard the man on the phone say we hadn’t actually bought the ticket.

"I was already picturing our dream house and the dream car, I think I was getting a bit carried away to be fair."

So, if you play the same numbers each week, remember to keep enough cash in your account for the payment.

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