Single dad Paul Harvey, 51, had no idea he was sitting on a life-changing £1 million win for a week – and thought ‘this must be a scam’ when when he was chased by the National Lottery to claim the sum
A Brit dad who became a millionaire overnight was convinced his big EuroMillions moment was nothing more than a sick scam.
Paul Harvey, a 51-year-old single dad from Attleborough, Norfolk, had no idea he was sitting on a life-changing £1 million win for a whole week – and even when an urgent email from The National Lottery landed in his inbox, his first reaction was suspicion. He said: “It didn’t look like the normal email I get. I thought this must be a scam.
“I read the email again and then Googled the National Lottery Line where I saw the telephone numbers matched; it was then that I allowed myself to get much more excited.” It comes after a woman claimed evil ‘scammers tried to trick me out of £1,600 but four words gave the game away’.
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Paul’s lucky break came in the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker draw on July 4, where matching a unique raffle code – not the main numbers – bags the £1 million prize. But after first checking his account and seeing he’d won £5 and a free Lucky Dip, he thought, “Happy days,” and went about his day.
A week after Paul’s £5 win, an email from The National Lottery changed everything. “It felt like forever waiting for the kids to get home from school so I could break the news. Their reactions were hilarious and heart-warming. We all feel ridiculously excited and relieved in equal measure. It just doesn’t seem real,” Paul said.
He even set up a camera to record the moment he broke the news to his son. “I wanted to tell the kids in person so when my son got home I set up my phone to record it. I got a massive lump in my throat as I asked him, ‘How many millionaires do you know?’ He said, ‘Zero’, and I replied: ‘Well you do now’. I then added, I swear on my life. I do like to joke but when I say those words, my kids know to take it seriously.”
The win marks a huge turnaround for Paul, who recently underwent treatment for bowel cancer. “Life hasn’t always been easy, but the kids mean the world to me, and they always come first,” he said.
He says a long-overdue family holiday is top of the agenda. “We have never been away abroad together, and I would love to take them both to Greece. But first we need to get our passports,” he said. Paul speaks Greek fluently, having spent 12 years living in Cyprus before having children, and he hasn’t ruled out returning there permanently one day. For now, the trip to Greece is a dream come true.
He’s also determined to help his children achieve their ambitions. “They both have big ideas about what they want to do when they leave school, and I cannot wait to help them in their chosen careers. It’s the important stuff like helping them to learn to drive and getting them a car and insurance so they can get to college and then work. My daughter has a driving test later this year and would love to get her a second-hand Fiat 500 for her to practice in.”
The money also means Paul can finally buy a home and enjoy his own bedroom instead of sleeping downstairs. “This win gives us so many more options, but I want to take my time and do it right,” he said.
