'I thought it was a scam': Woman who won £1m on lottery to buy new home with terminally ill husband

A pensioner who feared it was a scam when she won £1m on the lottery plans to buy a bungalow to make her terminally ill husband’s life easier.

Ian and Marlyn Anderson scooped £1m in the EuroMillions. Pic: PA

Carer Marlyn Anderson, 70, and husband Ian, 77, have been living in the front room of their house in Stirling due to the round-the-clock treatment he needs for a lung disease he developed after working on construction sites.

The winnings will enable the couple to buy a bungalow. Pic: PA

The couple, who have two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild, have been married for 32 years but they had to give up foreign holidays due to Mr Anderson’s diagnosis of pleural plaques and pulmonary fibrosis, which he believes is linked to asbestos exposure.

Mrs Anderson says her husband will now be able to live out his remaining days in comfort. Pic: PA

Mrs Anderson now hopes to find a spacious bungalow nearby after winning the money in the EuroMillions.

The couple have already bought an automatic car, a Citroen DS 7 Rivoli, with the winnings.

She initially believed the amount she had won was £1,000 and was “delighted” with that – but began to fear it was a scam when she saw the number of zeroes.

Mrs Anderson said: “This win couldn’t have come at a better time. It will ensure Ian can have the very best quality of life in the time he has left.

“As a result of Ian’s condition, he is unable to get upstairs. He struggles to breathe so we currently have our living room set up like a bedsit. We have no other option.

“Buying a bungalow will allow Ian to have his own bedroom and for us to have a sitting room too, all on one level.

“This will be so special as it is something we haven’t been able to do for such a long time. He will be able to live the rest of his life in comfort.”

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On March 12, Mrs Anderson discovered she had £4.90 left in her online Lottery account and decided to buy a EuroMillions ticket.

She recalled: “I initially thought we had won £1,000 and I was absolutely delighted.

“I then started to count the zeroes, and couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing, so I counted them again. I just kept thinking it couldn’t be true and it must be a scam.

“I was desperately watching the clock tick to 8am when I could call the National Lottery number to confirm if what I was seeing really was true.

“I couldn’t believe it when the person on the other end of the phone told me it was.”

Mrs Anderson said the news hasn’t fully sunk in yet.

She added: “Neither Ian nor I can believe it.

“It still all seems very surreal. There is no other word to describe what we are going through right now.”