A great grandmother got more than her usual cut and blow-dry from the hairdressers when she found out she had won a hair-raising £118,406 on the lottery.
Hilary Carter, 65, from Llanbradach, was at Salon Michelle in Penyrheol enjoying her weekly pamper when she found out she had matched five numbers and the bonus ball.
One of the stylists popped out on an errand and came back with the recent Lotto draw numbers.
She read out the numbers to Hilary, who has played the same Lotto numbers since 1994, while she was sitting under a dryer.
Over the noise she misheard them and didn’t realise the bonus ball was among her numbers.
She was overjoyed at the prospect of matching five numbers and winning around £2,000 when the stylist joked how close she was to winning a fortune.
It was only then the full extent of her riches was realised.
Hilary, a former factory worker who is originally from Bedwas, is finally coming to terms with her new-found fortune.
She said: “I am now starting to believe that it is actually real and I’m not dreaming. Since finding out I have cried, laughed, and been very excited. I really have felt like I’ve been on a rollercoaster.
“I’ve been going to the salon every Friday for many years and always get a bus home from there. But this time I was so shocked that I had to get a taxi. When I got home one of my friends could see that I wasn’t my normal self and asked if I was okay.
“I still didn’t believe that I had won, so I asked her to check my ticket. I knew the numbers off the top of my head as they are all very important dates or occasions for me, but I needed her to check and check again until I could really believe it.”
At present Hilary is not sure what she plans to spend her winnings on but insists she will continue to enjoy spending time with her family and the close group of friends she has met while living in sheltered accommodation.
She added: “A group of us in the Over 50s Club are planning a holiday in October. It’s been paid for and booked for months, so we’re now just waiting to go.
“I don’t have any grand plans of jetting off on foreign holidays with my winnings, I think I’ll just make sure that I can spend plenty of time with my family and good friends.”
The winning numbers on Wednesday August 5 were 1, 16, 18, 32, 39, 44 and the Bonus Ball was 33.