Malton resident scoops £5,500 win on Saint Catherine’s Hospice lottery
A retired farmer from Malton was stunned to win £5,500 after buying a £2 Saint Catherine’s lottery ticket.
Derrick Warters, 71, is a regular customer at the charity shop in Wheelgate along with his nine-year-old rescue dog Babe.
They pop in every week and Derrick always buys a lottery ticket and enjoys a catch up with shop manager Denise and the volunteers.
He said: “When I saw the winning number and the amount I thought am I seeing this right? I asked my wife Valerie to have a look but she didn’t have her glasses on and said you’ve won £550.
“But when we looked again we just couldn’t believe it. It just shows if you go in and buy a ticket you really do have a chance to win some big money!”
Derrick is planning to take Valerie on some UK holidays with the winnings as she’s told him to “blow it and enjoy it”.
He said: “The Malton shop is just brilliant. It has the best staff and volunteers – we really enjoy coming in to see them.”
Derrick has always raised funds for various charities by selling fruit and kindling for log burners from a stall on his garden wall, with the proceeds currently going to Saint Catherine’s.
Denise Millington, Malton shop manager, said: “It’s always lovely to see Derrick and we have a laugh about checking his age to see if he’s old enough to buy a lottery ticket! This couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap.”
Susan Stephenson, fundraising operations coordinator, said: “It was such a pleasure to meet Derrick and we are thrilled that he is one of our winners.
“The lottery is one of the ways people can support us regularly as all the proceeds go towards patient care. We are thankful to all our players and we love hearing their stories.”
Saint Catherine’s lottery is open to anyone over the age of 18 and costs £2 per play. Tickets can be bought from any Saint Catherine’s charity shop, the Barn Boutique and Flavours Bistro. Players can also sign up to play by direct debit.
The weekly prizes are £1,500, £200, £50, £25 x 2 and £10 x 10, plus a rollover which can reach a maximum of £20,000.
Find out more at www.saintcatherines.org.uk/how-you-can-help-us/lottery/