The pair both deny doing anything wrong (Picture: Jon-Ross Watson/ Mark Goodram/Facebook)

Two friends accused of using a stolen bank card to buy a winning lottery ticket have vowed to sue the National Lottery after being denied the £4million prize.

Mark Goodram, 36, bought the winning ticket with friend Jon-Ross Watson, 31, just days after being released from prison.

The pair went on a four-day bender in London after discovering their numbers had come up, using money borrowed from friends to down champagne and post pictures holding £50 notes on social media.

But Camelot, which runs the National Lottery, refused to pay out over fears a stolen bank card was used to buy the £10 scratch card after it emerged neither Goodram nor Watson have a bank account.




However, the pair both deny doing anything wrong.

Mark Goodram, 36, bought the winning ticket with friend Jon-Ross Watson, 31, just days after being released from prison (Picture: Mark Goodram/ Facebook)

Jon-Ross Watson denies wrongdoing (Picture: Jon-Ross Watson/Facebook)

They have since hired barrister Henry Hendon to fight for the prize – which is being withheld during the investigation.

The lawyer contacted National Lottery and gave then a deadline of June 4 to pay, however the money did not arrive.

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Speaking to The Sun, he said: ‘My clients have been very open and upfront about their upbringing in care homes and hard struggles in life, including previous substance misuse problems, which both have tried really hard to overcome.

‘Camelot is in effect holding my clients ransom to their past.

‘My clients consider Camelot are behaving in a culturally racist way by subjecting them to a level of scrutiny, checking and vetting, they would not otherwise do if the person who claimed the prize spoke in a posh accent.’

After they were questioned on the absence of bank accounts, Goodram and Watson initially claimed they had bought the scratch card with loose change.

They later changed their story and claimed a mystery friend called ‘John’ had bought the winning ticket on his debit card for them.

When they were further questioned about John, they could not give his surname, address or phone number.

After they were questioned on the absence of bank accounts, Goodram and Watson initially claimed they had bought the scratch card with loose change (Picture: Jon-Ross Watson/Facebook)

When they were further questioned about John, they could not give his surname, address or phone number (Picture: Mark Goodram/Facebook)

They have since claimed he wants to remain ‘anonymous’ and has moved ‘up North’.

The men, both from Bolton, claim they have no knowledge of a stolen debit card being used to make the purchase.

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Watson and Goodram both have extensive criminal records and have separately appeared on Bolton’s Most Wanted lists over the last few years for crimes in the town.

Goodram has 22 convictions for 45 offences – including burglary – and Watson has 72 convictions for 133 offences, including bank fraud.

Camelot said: ‘Security procedures form a key part of the process of validating a winning ticket to ensure we maintain the integrity of The National Lottery.

‘Should there be any doubt surrounding the validity of a claim, we would undertake a thorough investigation to ensure we pay out the rightful ticketholder.’