A PUNTER has revealed how she nearly missed out on £300,000 because of a silly Lotto app blunder.
Joanne Jobson, from Hartlepool in County Durham, was left in shock after landing the whopping windfall.
The dedicated care worker, who looks after children with disabilities, couldn't believe it when a text from The National Lottery popped on her phone.
After waking up from a night shift, she checked her phone only to find a message urging her to open her account.
But after logging onto the app, she nearly missed the huge jackpot as she thought it was too good to be true.
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The 51-year-old said: "I logged onto my account and couldn't believe what I was reading.
"I had to re-read the message several times as I thought it was telling me what 'I could win', not what I had 'actually won'. I jumped out of bed and went to tell my mum."
But her shocked mum told Joanne it was a scam.
She added: "I remember just saying to mum 'I think I might have won a lot of money' and showing her my phone.
"Mum was convinced it was a scam, so I googled the winning Set For Life numbers for the same date to see if they matched - which of course they did."
'UNBELIEVABLE'
She scooped the Set For Life prize bagging an eye-watering £10,000 every month for the next 30 years.
The jaw-dropping win means she can be financially secure until she's 81.
She said: "I'm going from working nights and saving hard to being able to buy things when I want and plan holidays I could only have dreamt of before."
When she told her two older sisters, they burst into tears with the good news.
Joanne said: "When I told them they both just cried - it was very emotional for us all.
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"I think that was the moment when it finally sank in for me too that I really had won. I feel so lucky that this has happened - it's just phenomenal.
DREAM MADE REALITY
With the winnings she can finally buy a house and move out from her mum's place.
She explained: "I'm so excited to be able to buy my own home and I have already started house hunting.
"I've been living with my mum trying to save for my own place but was still some way off from making that move happen - it's amazing I can now make that dream a reality.
"I still can't believe that I've won, it's absolutely life-changing for me."
Joanne hopes to spend her golden years around the world on sun-kissed holidays in exotic destinations - including Barbados and the Maldives.
She added: "I may even go on a world cruise as there are so many incredible places I want to visit."
The dedicated daughter is also planning to treat her family and enjoy adventures together.
Joanne, who only started playing Set For Life five months ago said she never thought she could win.
She added: "I didn't think things like this happened to real people like me, but I'm proof they really do."
It comes as a lotto winner told how he will never play again after he was made to feel like a criminal and forced to wait weeks to get his cash.
Paul Simpson, from Leicester, was thrilled to win £800 from a HotPicks ticket - before spending weeks chasing down his prize.
