Couple who ignored National Lottery emails for a month were stunned to discover they had won £10,000 a month for the next year

• James and Sally Briggs ignored emails from the lottery as they were ‘busy’ 
• After a month, the West Mids pair called and discovered they had won £120,000
• Mrs Briggs, 40, said she wants a ‘she shed’ and Mr Briggs, 42, wants a front door 

A couple who spent four weeks ignoring emails from the National Lottery were stunned to discover they had actually won £10,000 a month for the next year.

James Briggs and his wife Sally didn’t open the emails from the lottery asking them to get in touch for a month because they were too ‘busy’.

Mr Briggs, 42, eventually called the National Lottery because he couldn’t believe his luck and was skeptical about the emails.

But the married couple, from Walsall, West Midlands, are now making plans for what they’ll spend their £120,000 winnings on.

Mrs Briggs, 40, said she wants a ‘she shed’ for her arts and crafts, saying ‘men have man caves, I want a she shed’.

James Briggs and his wife Sally didn’t open the emails from the lottery asking them to get in touch for a month because they were too ‘busy’

The married couple, from Walsall, West Midlands, are now making plans for what they’ll spend their £120,000 winnings on

Mrs Briggs said she wants a ‘she shed’, saying ‘men have man caves, I want a she shed’

Mr Briggs – who has played National Lottery’s Set For Life since it began – said it was only after a fourth email from the lottery asking him to contact them that he finally called up – over a month after his winning numbers were drawn.

The pair said they were still in shock after matching the five main numbers in the ‘Set For Life’ draw on August 3rd.

James, a senior implementation specialist, said: ‘I buy my Set For Life tickets one month in advance via the National Lottery app.

READ MORE – Lucky ticket holder scoops £3.8million National Lottery prize

‘I received an email about the draw on August 3rd but ignored it as there was so much going on. I was busy with work, including an international trip to a conference.

‘Then we had a holiday to Berlin to celebrate Sally’s birthday.

‘There was home stuff to do, so it was only after seeing the fourth email when we got back from holiday that I actually got around to reading it.

‘It was a Sunday night and Sally and I were getting bits and bobs sorted before returning to work the next day.

‘I was checking my emails while watching the TV.

‘I didn’t say anything to Sally but decided I’d call the National Lottery line the next day and see if all these emails were true.

‘I called the following morning, still wondering whether it was real but, after chatting to various people and seeing everything on the app it finally dawned on me that it could actually be true.

‘Having had the confirmation call with The National Lottery, I messaged Sally at work and said I had some news for her when she got back home.’

Mrs Briggs, a fleet scheduler, said she panicked when she saw the message.

She said: ‘I thought there was a problem. I couldn’t think of anything else until I got home.

‘Then James told me, and I just kept on repeating, ‘you what?’, I was in total disbelief.’

The ‘laid back’ couple have been thinking about how they want to spend the cash, but with their parents’ advice in mind to ‘enjoy yourselves, but wisely.’

Mr Briggs – who has played National Lottery’s Set For Life since it began – said it was only after a fourth email from the lottery asking him to contact them that he finally called up

The pair said they were still in shock after matching the five main numbers in the ‘Set For Life’ 

Mr Briggs has more modest aspirations of buying a new front door for their house

They have already paid off their car loan with their first instalment of their winnings while Mrs Briggs has her eye on her own version of a ‘man cave’.

Mrs Briggs said: ‘I love arts and crafts. I attend a weekly craft club and all my materials are littered across the house.

‘If I could have a room to myself, life would be so much easier, and I could be more creative.

‘A special place for crafting would be a dream come true. Men have man caves, I want a she shed.’

READ MORE – How you can GUARANTEE a National Lottery win by buying just 27 tickets – but mathematicians say there’s a catch 

Meanwhile, her husband has more modest aspirations of buying a new front door for their house.

He said: ‘We need a new front door, and I was gobsmacked by how expensive they are.

‘One quote was for nearly £5,000. I did nothing about it because we were so busy and the prices were so dear, but now we can have a nice, bespoke front door.’

But keen to also treat himself, Mr Briggs has bought a watch and wants a new laptop.

The couple are also planning a trip to Vancouver and want to invest in property long term.

Mr and Mrs Briggs met seven years ago while speed dating and said the win couldn’t have come at a better time for them.

Mrs Briggs has just celebrated her 40th birthday and the couple have recently had  their fourth wedding anniversary.

Mr Briggs added: ‘I play Lotto and EuroMillions when there’s a big rollover, but I like Set For Life because I feel there’s always a good chance of winning and I’m now winning proof of that!’

The winning ‘Set For Life’ numbers for the draw on Thursday, August 3 were 2, 11, 17, 30 and 38 and the Life Ball 3.

‘Set For Life’ costs £1.50 to play and offers a top prize of £10,000 a month for 30 years when the five main numbers and the Life Ball are matched.

Players can win £10,000 a month for a whole year by matching the five main numbers.

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