Tunbridge Wells couple win £250k on scratch card after losing keys

John Simpson and Michelle Newton are planning to pay off their mortgage and buy a rental property

A couple who won £250,000 on a £2 scratch card claim they won because they lost their keys.

Teacher Michelle Newton and her husband, school caretaker John Simpson, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said they would pay off their mortgage and go on a trip to Australia after their win.

Ms Newton, 50, said a delay to buying the scratch card due to losing their keys helped them hit the jackpot.

"We are never going to moan about losing our keys again," she said.

The couple lost their keys while locking up before going shopping in late December.

"On the way back, we popped into the newsagents, later than planned, to pick up a few bits," said Ms Newton.

"We immediately scratched the card outside the shop and we just stopped dead in our tracks."

Instead of going home, the couple headed to a local pub for a pint before claiming their prize.

"It was a mad day to think that if we hadn't lost our keys, we would have gone into the newsagents at a different time and bought a different scratch card and may never have won a thing," said Ms Newton.

"As a teacher of science and religious studies, I constantly ask pupils to think about how and why things happen, and yet here is a totally random event."

Alongside paying off their mortgage, the couple plan to renovate their home and purchase a rental property.

They will also visit some of Mr Simpson's family in Australia.

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