It seemed like just another losing lottery ticket to the teenage shop worker who checked the numbers, tore it up and threw it in the bin.
But he had actually just ditched proof of a staggering £58mn ($76mn) win.
A couple feared they would miss out on the gigantic prize because of the ripped ticket – and had to wait an agonising two weeks before Camelot confirmed the payout.
Overjoyed Fred Higgins, 67, and wife Lesley, 57, on Thursday marked the incredible win with a huge celebration. But Fred told how he thought it might have been wrecked when Sean Grant, 18, tore the ticket in two.
Fred had gone to check two EuroMillions tickets at the shop – but Sean ripped them both up and dumped them seconds before the lottery machine sounded a winning chime. Retired motor salesman Fred retrieved the torn ticket and went home to double-check his numbers online, with his wife Lesley, 57, at first believing he had won £5.7mn.
In fact, the couple scooped £58mn – the 14th biggest UK prize ever – but they had to wait for Camelot to carry out security checks because of the torn ticket.
Pensioner Fred, of Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, said: “I buy two tickets for a Tuesday and a Friday – a lucky dip – and check them every couple of weeks.
“I handed it to the boy in the shop. He put it through the machine and tore the ticket up and put it in the bin beside. 
“A few seconds later the lottery machine gave out a chitty that said I was a winner and I was to contact lottery HQ. The retailer immediately grabbed it out of the bin and handed it to me. I’d no idea how much I’d won.”
Fred added: “The ticket had been torn in two but all the numbers were still clear, so I took it back home to make the call. 
“Lesley was snoozing so I thought I would look at the website to double-check the numbers and sure enough, the first matched, then the second matched, match, match – we had them all.”
Ripping up losing tickets is common practice in shops. Fred said it was a tense fortnight as they spoke to Camelot security teams. The pair kept the ticket locked in their house in an envelope marked ‘Money Worries Over’ in red pen.
The only other person to know of its existence was their 23-year-old daughter, who is not being named. The £57,975,367 payout was confirmed by Camelot on Monday and just 24 hours later account manager Lesley handed in her notice.
She said: “I went into my boss’s office and asked if I could have a couple of minutes. I closed the door, pulled out a seat and said ‘We might have a little problem...we’ve won the lottery’”.
“I said that you might have noticed I’ve been a bit distracted these last two weeks and I really don’t think I can put in a good job and I’ll have to terminate my employment.” 
The pair are now set for a spending spree – Lesley is eyeing million pound homes in Barbados and has picked up the keys to a new Audi A5. Meanwhile Fred wants to buy a new car – “perhaps a Jaguar”.
But the pensioner has also pledged to “keep doing the housework” while his wife watches their finances. Lesley said: “It’s absolutely surreal. Saying it’s a life-changing amount of money is an understatement. I think the next four generations are taken care of. Inevitably our lives have changed forever.” 
Meanwhile, Sean said he was so used to just handing out small amounts from the cash register that when the machine chimed to say it was the winning ticket he automatically ripped it in two and threw it in the bin.
It was only after a message came up on the lottery terminal that he realised his error – as it told him there was not enough cash in the building to make the payout.
He immediately apologised to Fred for the ‘honest mistake’. Sean said he had learned his lesson about dealing with lottery tickets in the future, adding: “I definitely won’t be ripping them up.”