A student won £250,000 from a scratch card on the same day he had his first date with his now girlfriend.
Luke Ashman, 22, said he started to shake when he realised he had won the National Lottery's Multiplier Orange Scratchcard on April 22.
But the University of Worcester student had to quickly pull himself together before his first meal out with a woman he had been seeing since the beginning of the year.
Luke said he 'won twice in one day' as the pair became boyfriend and girlfriend after their romantic night out.
He said: “We’ve been speaking and seeing each other since the beginning of the year but obviously haven’t been able to go out on a proper date.
"She normally catches the bus home from work, but I went to pick her up and couldn’t wait to tell her my news. She didn’t believe me at first until I showed her the winning scratch card.
"That night we went out for a meal, I ordered a bottle of Prosecco and we celebrated an amazing day of both a lottery win and a first date. You could say I’d won twice in one day.”
Luke bought the scratch card at an Asda store in Brierley Hill, Dudley.
He had to rush to the shop as he fell asleep on the sofa before picking up his groceries.
Luke, who works as a security guard for TK Maxx, said: "I had the day off from work and even though I was supposed to go food shopping I fell asleep on the sofa.
"When I woke, I dashed to the supermarket because not only had I got to get the groceries, I had my first proper date that evening with a girl I’d recently started seeing.
“Even after my daytime nap, I was still tired, so I bought myself an energy drink and while at the counter I bought a couple of National Lottery scratch cards.”
Luke, who studies criminology, checked the scratch cards when he got back into his car.
He added: “I scratched one with no luck. I then tried the second and scratched a diamond, then a win symbol - I saw £250,000 but wasn’t sure whether it was a full stop or a comma.
"When I double checked and saw the amount and I had won the top prize my heart was thumping and I literally started to shake."
He described his drive back home as a 'blur' however he remembers getting out of his car, stumbling up the drive and shouting out when he got inside the property.
"I was met by my mum who was worried having heard me call out, thinking I had been in an accident," he said.
“We checked over the scratch card together before I called The National Lottery to check if I had won and that I was £250,000 richer. I immediately called my dad and messaged my three brothers with my amazing news.”
Luke plans to spend the money on a Ford Mustang and put the rest towards setting up a property development business.
He plans to celebrate the win when restrictions are lifted and all of his family and friends can get together after June 21.
