Drama teacher finds Lotto fortune

Siobhan O'Brien and her husband celebrate lottery win

A County Fermanagh drama teacher came very close to losing a fortune when she mislaid her purse - it contained a lottery ticket worth almost £650,000.

Siobhan O'Brien had the winning ticket in her purse for two weeks, not realising it gave her a share of a £2.5m lottery jackpot.

She then lost it for two hours before tracking it down to a petrol station.

The drama had its happy ending on Friday, when she received a cheque for £649,657.

The cash is a share of the Lotto jackpot from 9 January.

Sipping a glass of celebratory champagne Siobhan said: "I shudder to think what could well have happened to my purse.

"I was here, there and everywhere with it in my handbag and apart from the petrol station I had a few other narrow escapes.

"I kept mislaying my handbag when I took a group to a feis in Dundalk where there were 2,000 competitors in three different rooms - and all the time the ticket was there."

The teacher from Belleek, who is married with one son, said the cash will not change her way of life.

She plans to continue to teach drama at the Erne Special Needs School in Enniskillen as well as leading the Borderline Players acting group.

"We are delighted with my windfall," she said.

"It's just a perfect amount to win - it should allow us to have no financial worries while still keeping our feet firmly on the ground."

Siobhan's jackpot win helps swell the £200m won in top tier prizes by Northern Ireland players since the National Lottery began 13 years.