Lawyer of scratchcard winner says fraud case should never have made it to court

A scratchcard winner has emerged from three years of worry after being accused of an £80,000 ticket fraud.

After prosecution completed its evidence, Luke Waterfield was cleared of the charge on the direction of a judge at Nottingham Crown Court.

On his instructions, the 12-member jury found Mr Waterfield not guilty. The case arose when a woman gave away a winning scratchcard "Double Your Luck" ticket in 2015.

Mr Waterfield, 31, of Pepper Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield had always strongly denied doing anything wrong.

After the case was thrown out, his legal firm said the matter should never have been brought to court.

"We said from the outset that the prosecution were skating on thin ice in relation to this case. At half-time the judge ordered the defendant to be found not guilty.

"Mr Waterfield is delighted about this incident which took place in 2015," said lawyer Matt Goode, of ABR Solicitors in Leeds.

The court had been told a middle-aged woman bought the ticket from a Co-op shop on Portland Road, Hucknall. It was validated by store staff.

She later gave it away and Mr Waterfield contacted Camelot on September 3, 2015.

A transcript of his jubilant call to an operator was played to the jury.

Mr Waterfield, 31, was recorded saying: "I think I have won the jackpot on the scratchcard."

After providing various codes from the card, the operator asks if he is "sitting down" and says: "It's an £80,000 winner."

Mr Waterfield described it as "life-changing" and told the Camelot worker: "I have a baby on the way."

When he met scratchcard officials, Mr Waterfield proved his identity and signed a document to say he was legally entitled to the prize.

The jury heard a statement from the woman who confirmed that she bought the card from the Hucknall Co-op branch and gave it away later that day.