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I won £10k a month for 30 years in National Lottery… I was almost left with nothing when machine made ‘funny noise’
The lowdown on Set For Life & how it works
A man who won £10,000 per month for 30 years on the National Lottery feared he was left with nothing when the machine made a "funny noise".
Plasterer John Stembridge, 51, has been able to hang up the trowel after scooping the whopping jackpot on the National Lottery's Set For Life game.
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Speaking about the magic moment he found out about his win, John said the machine made a "strange noise".
John, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, added: “I was sitting in my van having a coffee after finishing a day of plastering and just noticed the ticket behind the visor.
I was close to a shop so just thought I would pop in and get the ticket checked, just in case there was anything on it.
“When the store assistant put it into the machine to check, the machine made a really strange noise – something I had never heard before.
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“The assistant then said to me I would need to call the number on the ticket as it was a winning ticket but she couldn’t pay me.
"I just thought I had maybe won £100."
John burst into tears when he realised he had won a bit more than £100.
He continued: "I went back to my van and called Camelot.
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"My heart was racing. It was quite surreal – a National Lottery advert came on the radio at that very moment, playing the telephone call of a winner... and literally, as this came on the radio my call was answered.
"The lady on the end of the phone said to me, ‘Are you sitting down?’ She then confirmed that I had won the top prize.
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"I literally burst into tears and I cried my eyes out. I could not believe it!
"To be in the position where I get £10k every month, tax-free, is just phenomenal – this National Lottery win has changed everything for me and those closest to me and I still just cannot believe it!”
John said he was fed up with long hours and coming home covered in dust to only worry about the bills.
He plans to pursue his love of fishing and photography, with hopes of building a dream home by a lake.
He also plans an epic fishing holiday across Europe.
Set For Life: £10k a month for THIRTY years
This is all you need to know about the Set For Life game
You will need to pick 5 main numbers from 1 to 47, and one ‘Life Ball’ number from 1 to 10.
Each line played costs £1.50.
Set For Life draw days are on Monday and Thursday. You’ll need to buy your ticket before 7:30pm to be entered into the draw for that day.
To win the top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years, you must match 5 numbers and the Life Ball on the same line.
If you win the top prize, you will receive £10,000 every month over 30 years, rather than in one lump sum.
The odds of winning the top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years is approximately 1 in 15.3m.
The odds of winning the 2nd prize of £10,000 every month for a year is approximately 1 in 1.7m.