What should have been a life-changing moment turned into a nightmare for a man from the UK after lottery officials told him that his £200,000 scratch ticket was invalid.
A father of four was denied a £200,000 jackpot prize after being accused of faking his winning scratch card. Eric Walker from Sheffield claimed that he had won the money after matching three symbols on a National Lottery scratchcard.
The game works by using a set of sixteen given co-ordinates which players must use to scratch of three squares on the card and match three Pharaoh symbols to win a prize. Lottery operator Camelot have refused to pay Mr Walker his prize after one of the co-ordinates had been "altered".
The supposed alterations to the ticket include changing the letters of the co-ordinates and two symbols appear to have been scratched off of the ticket completely. Mr Walker denies that he tampered with the ticket.
An image of the "altered" ticket was published in a local newspaper and Camelot say that they have launched an investigation into the matter. Mr Walker continues to deny any foul play, and says that the prize would change the lives of himself, his partner and their children.