Barrie Enderby described himself as the UK’s unluckiest man after he missed out on a £10,000 lottery win as a result of being hit by a car.
The pensioner’s bad luck didn’t end after that. His kitchen was consumed by a blaze that same night when he forgot about the food he was cooking.
The misfortune of the 78-year-old began on Sunday, when a motorist pulled out in front of him and knocked him off his bike. With a badly injured leg, Enderby couldn’t make it to the bookmaker on time.
“When I realised that I hadn’t put on my lottery numbers I went as fast as I could to the bookies.
“But my leg is still sore and I could only go slowly and missed the 8pm deadline by 15 minutes.”
Later, he discovered that the numbers he had selected, 8, 14, 16 and 21, inspired by his daughters’ birthdays and his two old house numbers, would have landed him a £10,000 prize at the Irish Lottery.
Although Enderby is not much of a drinker, he went for a drink after he missed out on the win. When he returned home, he felt hungry and put on some chips and steak. However, the man fell asleep and the next thing he noticed was the screeching smoke alarm.
“I threw water on the cooker but that was the worst thing I could have done.”
As a result, the blaze grew so large that it destroyed roof tiles and an extractor fan. Fortunately, fire fighters soon arrived and put out the fire.
Still looking on the bright side after the series of unfortunate events, Enderby said he was grateful for the response from the fire service.
