A woman claims she lost out on a £136,130 lottery win because of a mistake by a shop operator.

Elaine Clark, of Fairhead Road, St Anne's, Colchester, bought two tickets as usual from Alldays store in nearby Harwich Road.

But it was only after realising five numbers and the bonus ball number had come up for her that she discovered the mistake.

"The operator had processed the same line twice instead of the two different lines once, and it was the line that was not processed that won," she said.

"I have watched people buying their lottery tickets and no-one checks them. The same thing happened to us about two weeks before when we lost £10.

"When I realised the amount of money I had lost I was so angry."

Mrs Clark said in her dreams of a win on the lottery, she had intended to buy luxury items and it would have also included a world cruise.

A spokesperson for Alldays Stores said: "Alldays recognises this is an unfortunate incident and wholly understands the customer's disappointment.

"However, as stated in the national lottery rules and procedures which set out the contractual rights and obligations of the player and the game promoter, it is the player's responsibility to ensure that their ticket is correct.

"If any errors have been made, the player has two hours to notify the retailer, at which stage a correction can be made."

Fortune lost - Elaine Clark now wishes she had checked her lottery tickets. Had she spotted the mistake and rectified it, she says she would have won £136,130

Picture: STEPHANIE MACKRILL

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