A former Ashby factory worker and her husband have scooped a £116,000 prize on Euromillions.

Ann Fawsitt used to work at KP Snacks in Ashby but now lives in Hatton, South Derbyshire.

Along with her other half Denis, they are planning a house and garden makeover after winning £116,124.40 by matching the five main numbers and one Lucky Star number in the EuroMillions on March 16.

But it might have all been very different if lucky Denis Fawsitt (80) had not forgotten his glasses when buying his ticket.

Denis would normally use family birthdays for his numbers but, because he had forgotten his glasses and could not see the play slip properly, he asked shop staff for a Lucky Dip.

This lucky piece of forgetfulness meant that he and wife, Ann (75) can treat themselves to that house and garden makeover.

Denis said: "I realised I had forgotten my glasses and tried to pick my numbers, but I just couldn't. I went to pay for my papers and asked the lady behind the counter for a Lucky Dip. It turned out to be one of my best decisions ever.

"After what happened in the newsagent, I had this funny feeling we were going to win. I said to my wife Ann that evening that I felt we were going to win big."

The next morning Denis went - with his glasses! - to get his daily newspapers and asked staff to check his ticket.

They told him he had to call Camelot because he had won a large amount of money.

Disbelieving, Denis called his daughter Sally as soon as he got home, asking her to pop in on her way to work to check the ticket for him.

He said: "I always go early for my papers, around 7.15am. When I called Sally she thought I was being silly and had probably got things mixed up, especially as I told her I had forgotten my glasses.

"But I was right, I had won but because it was still only 7:30am we had to wait until The National Lottery hotline opened at 9am to call and check.

"Sally went to work and explained to her boss that she needed to pop back for a family emergency at 9am. She came back as planned, called The National Lottery people and we all went into shock upon hearing the news."

However, there was no dancing around the house or champagne popping for the lucky couple to celebrate their new-found fortune.

Ann said: "Not at our age, especially with Denis' bad back.

"Denis had a drop of whisky and I had a small sherry. We then put the lucky winning ticket in the living room cabinet for safekeeping before the people from The National Lottery were able to validate the ticket.

"When the win was confirmed, we did have a glass or two of fizz, and when this horrible Covid has gone away and it's safe we'll have a big family party to celebrate."

Denis added: "I hurt my back a few years ago so I haven't been able to tend to my garden as much as I would have liked.

"With a bit of landscaping, Ann and I can enjoy our garden even more, especially as the summer is not too far away."

Inside the house. Ann wants to decorate and refresh many of their rooms. She is also looking to get a new electric cooker and a new foam mattress. Denis has his eyes on a new TV.

Ann added: "This win means that we now don't have to worry about money. We can treat ourselves to a few nice things but, mostly importantly, give a lot to the family. We've had our time, it's theirs now…this money will help them more than us."

Denis is a retired builder and coal miner. The couple have two daughters, Sally and Sharon, two grandsons and a granddaughter.

Denis and Ann play EuroMillions every week and always buy their tickets from The Co-operative, Station Road, Hatton, DE65 5EL.