29 October 2023 , 13:00
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A lucky teenager scooped a massive Lotto prize on his first ever go - while sitting in the bath.
Sam Lawton, who was 19 at the time, scored a £120,000 prize in the National Lottery's newest game. The young dad-of-one, from Leamington Spa, Warks, won £10,000 a month for the next year in the Set For Life draw. Sam, who was working as a data analyst, matched five numbers in the one in 1,704,377 game.
He revealed he was inspired to play the game after seeing Dean Weymes, 24, scoop a £3m top prize on the telly. Sam, who celebrated the win with girlfriend Connie Bell, 20, said: "I was in the bath and just thought that I'd have a go. I saw Dean Weymes celebrating his win and just thought I'd have a punt. I downloaded the National Lottery app in the bath, put a tenner in my account and then played a Lucky Dip."
Sam, who is yet to pass his driving test, went downstairs after his bath to learn he'd won the Set For Life second prize He added: "It was only an hour, maybe 90 minutes, after I first played when I saw a message on my phone and it said I'd won the second prize - £10k a month for 12 months.
"Having never played before I asked Connie to take a look. But like me, she had never played before so we called her brother Craig, who'd played the National Lottery for years. He said 'on my way, don't move' and within five minutes he was at my front door. We checked the tickets and sat there in disbelief wondering if it was true."
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Sam and Connie, a HR worker, first planned to jet off to New York for a holiday of a lifetime after his work gave the green-light. A deposit for a home is also high on their priority list. He added: I can't actually believe that I'm going to be able to do these things - and do them right now.
"Everything still seems quite unreal - the news really is still sinking in. The next thing on my list is a driving licence. I haven't passed my test and with a small family I need wheels, maybe a BMW 1 series. The win will allow me to learn to drive and get a car straight away - which is amazing."
Sam bought his ticket on August 12, 2019 - his winning numbers were 3, 20, 26, 27 and 32. Mr Weymes, 24, from Peterborough, Cambs, matched five main numbers and one Life Ball while playing the twice-weekly National Lottery game for the first time last month. The graduate will enjoy a whopping £3.6m in installments until he turns 54 after beating odds of one in 15.3million. Set For Life takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays.