In a classic tale of relationship woes and lottery luck, a man is accusing his ex-girlfriend of cheating him out of his share of £1 million in lottery winnings.
Michael Cartlidge, 39, claims that he and his former partner, Charlotte Cox, 37, bought the winning lottery scratchcard together at a shop in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
However, after their breakup, Ms Cox has been declared the sole winner by lottery officials.
While Michael acknowledges that Charlotte scratched the ticket, he argues that he was the one who suggested they make the purchase and even transferred her the cash for it while they were still in the shop.
Camelot, the previous owners of the lottery, conducted an investigation that involved reviewing CCTV footage from the shop.
They had initially indicated to Mr. Cartlidge that the winnings would be split. However, it is now understood that the new lottery owners, Allwyn, have ruled in favour of Ms Cox as the rightful claimant.
Mr. Cartlidge, a security engineer, maintains that he is entitled to half of the winnings and is contemplating legal action.
‘I am in shock. I can openly admit that we wouldn’t have got that ticket without Charlotte, but she wouldn’t have got it without me either. I know it was her bank account that paid for it, but it should go 50-50 morally’, he said.
Ms Cox responded to the claims, dismissing them as “rubbish.” According to a source close to her, her former partner has “no right” to the jackpot.
The couple had been together for three months before the lottery dispute arose. On the night of the win, Mr Cartlidge was staying at Ms Cox’s house, and they decided to go to their local Lidl to purchase duck pancakes for dinner. They then decided to visit the neighbouring Nisa store to buy a couple of £5 scratchcards.
According to Mr. Cartlidge, his ex-partner informed him that she didn’t have enough money to pay for the tickets, so he attempted to transfer funds using his bank app. He says the moment was captured on the shop’s CCTV footage.
To their astonishment, one of the scratchcards rewarded them with the £1 million jackpot. Forty minutes later, Mr. Cartlidge’s transfer went through.
The couple celebrated their win with a trip to the seaside and had various plans in the works, including buying a house together and purchasing a car.