A Somerset family will claim a £1million lottery jackpot having very nearly missed out on the prize after ignoring calls and emails they thought were spam.

Mark Jefferson, who played with his wife Naomi and four children, said it was only by chance that he reluctantly answered a call from the National Lottery after nine days turning down their attempts to reach him.

“You get so many calls and emails these days – I just thought it was another sales call so it was only by chance I answered, thank goodness I did,” said the builder from Ilminster.

“When I was told I'd won a million pounds, I genuinely thought someone was winding me up. It sounded completely ridiculous. A builder from Somerset being told over the phone he'd won £1M? I wasn't convinced at all.”

The family syndicate matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball in the Lotto draw on 24 June, winning a £1m prize that will be shared between Mark, Naomi, and their four adult children, Alexandra, Lily and Emily and Taylor.

Mark said he had already received a few notifications telling him to check his account and guessed he had probably won “a few pounds”.

But he said he was “absolutely floored” when he learned that he had won such a huge amount of money for his family.

“I was in tears,” he said. “To think I'd spent nine days ignoring emails about something so life-changing is incredible."

The family set up their syndicate less than a year ago, on 20 July 2025, to celebrate Mark’s birthday. Each member chose one Lotto line for each draw. The winning numbers were selected by daughter Alexandra.

“I've played The National Lottery for years but we only started the family syndicate last summer,” said Mark.

“To win less than a year later feels incredible. You always hear about people winning and wonder what it would feel like. Now we're the family everyone talks about.”

Mark said it was not the first time that someone in the extended family had won big on the National Lottery.

“In 1995, a close relative shared a £16.2M Lotto jackpot...with 132 other winning ticket-holders!” he said.

While helping their children financially is a priority, the family is also planning to travel and spend time together making memories.

Among the first plans are a big family holiday abroad, a new convertible for Naomi and a caravan on the south coast where they can enjoy spontaneous weekends away together.

“For us, it's all about making memories. Knowing the family has opportunities we never imagined before is the best feeling in the world,” Mark said.

More than 100 people have become millionaires through the National Lottery since the start of the year, operator Allwyn said.

It also emerged this week that a mother who says her winning lottery ticket was accidentally binned by a shopkeeper will be allowed to claim her £12million jackpot following an agonising wait.

Kath Main, 46, from Pontypridd in South Wales, appealed after the owner of the Londis in Abercynon threw out her ticket when his scanner failed to register her numbers as a win, according to The Sun.

National Lottery operator Allwyn launched a 30-day investigation and has now concluded that Ms Main will be able to claim her win - so long as nobody else comes forward by 3 December.

Ms Main, the secretary of a rugby club, previously said that she “feels sick all the time” waiting for the potential payout, and that she hopes to use some of the money on a Lions rugby tour of New Zealand.