Honest shopkeeper seeks owner of €350,000 ticket
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'It wasn't mine. I could have taken it... but it was someone else's ticket and someone else's luck'
AN honest shop assistant is appealing for a mystery man who left a winning lottery ticket in the shop to come forward and claim his prize.
The absent-minded shopper left his National Lottery ticket on the counter of a shop on Drogheda, Co Louth, last Wednesday, little realising that it would soon be worth €350,000.
"I said don't forget your ticket but when I looked again he was gone," said Tom Heavey, of McDonnell's Centra in Hardmans Gardens, on the northside of the River Boyne.
Mr Heavey signed the ticket to show that it had been paid for and left it beside the till, forgetting about the incident until he received an excited phone call the next morning.
"One of the girls rang me at home and said I had won €350,000 and that my ticket was in the shop," said Mr Heavey, who was shocked because he had also bought a lottery ticket.
But the shop assistant soon realised that his ship had not in fact come in. "I knew the ticket wasn't mine -- I spoke to my boss about it and we looked at the CCTV footage."
The honourable employee has worked in the shop for 12 years and said that he could never have taken the money himself.
"It wasn't mine. I could have taken it and no one would have known the difference but it was someone else's ticket and someone else's luck. Maybe I'll get a bit of luck for myself now."
Hundreds
The unknown winner is thought to be in his thirties and visited the shop around 4.45pm last Wednesday, buying a few items along with the quick pick for the mid-week Lotto draw.
"He was wearing headphones and I went out after him and saw him walking off towards Pearse Park," said Mr Heavey.
He said the route the winner took is used as a shortcut to other estates, meaning that hundreds of houses are within a 1km radius of the shop.
The ticket is with Drogheda gardai and anyone who thinks they may have won can contact the shop.
Meanwhile there was good news yesterday for one woman whose husband has just been made redundant, as she won €350,000.
She collected her winnings from last Saturday's Lotto Plus 1 draw yesterday, having only discovered her good luck that morning.
"I'm still in shock. I can't keep my feet on the ground," said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous. "My husband recently lost his job so this couldn't have come at a better time for us."
She said she only decided to check her numbers when she went to buy a ticket for last night's EuroMillions draw.
"When it said to call the National Lottery I knew I must have won a few euro. It's amazing how this little piece of paper is suddenly worth so much money," said the woman, who bought her winning ticket at a Spar shop in Westmoreland St, Dublin 2.
Two Wexford men also got lucky with last Saturday's lottery draw, collecting a cool €350,000 to help them weather the recession. "We're absolutely delighted with our win. I've been playing the Lotto for years and the perseverance has finally paid off," said one of the owners of the ticket, which was picked up in Topaz Service Station, Crosstown, Co Wexford.
"I've won a few euro over the years but this is the biggest yet. I say yet because someday I'll be back here for the jackpot," he said.
The final Lotto Plus 1 prize of €350,000 from the June 6 draw still remains unclaimed. The lucky €8 Quick Pick ticket was bought in Paperchase, Headford Rd, Co Galway.
- Elaine Keogh and Caitrina Cody
