A man who should have won millions in the National Lottery has said how a blunder cost him his winnings and his marriage.
Martyn Trott bought a winning National Lottery ticket but a huge mistake left him and his then wife Kay with nothing.
The pair were overjoyed when they realised they had bought an unclaimed prize worth a massive £3million in 2001.
But their happiness quickly faded away when they couldn't find the winning ticket. The couple said they had won because the jackpot numbers matched the ones they used on a weekly basis.
Kay and Martyn Trott
Mirrorpix
However, after telling Lottery organiser Camelot in order to claim their prize, they were devastated to be told they could not claim the prize as lost tickets must be reported within 30 days and their window had passed.
Speaking to MailOnline, Martyn said: "Having that money taken away was torture. For a long time, I lost sight of who I was and what I believed in. There is no guarantee it would have brought me happiness."
After launching a campaign, which included former PM Tony Blair's wife Cherie Booth QC who offered her legal opinion at a reduced rate, Camelot did not budge.
Sadly, the misfortune caused the pair's marriage to break down.
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The pair should have pocketed £3million
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Martyn added: "We'd only known each other for two years and the Lottery ordeal quickly highlighted our differences. All we did was bicker. Sadly, both of us agreed we should split and Kay moved out."
Kay was forced to move out of their home in Hertfordshire, while Martyn quit his job. Martyn wrote an autobiography about the shocking experience while living off dwindling savings. He then decided to turn to Christianity and in 2003 began a relationship with an American woman called Tanya.
Martyn went to stay with Tanya in Nashville, Tennessee, where she introduced him to a church group led by a "self-appointed Apostle."
He tried to join the church permanently but returned to the UK after discovering all members had to pay 10 per cent of their income to the church leader.
In March 2007, six years after the whole ordeal began, Martyn's lawyers brought the case against Camelot in London's High Court. Martyn was warned he would have to pay Camelot's £400,000 legal fees if he lost.
After key sponsor Jonathan Bunn pulled his funding, Martyn then realised that he would never see the winnings. Two years later, he published his novel, Six Magic Numbers.