A MYSTERY gambler from Burnley is said to have walked away with a £4million jackpot after striking gold at his local newsagent.

Speculation surrounds the identity of the scratchcard winner, who is thought to have made his fortune on the £4m Gold game at Welcome News in Briercliffe Road.

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Newsagent Mohammed Ikram, 43, was serving in his shop on Sunday when the player bought one of the £10 National Lottery tickets.

Mr Ikram, who has run the shop for more than 10 years, said: “When he scratched off the numbers he showed me the card. I told him I couldn’t pay him so he would have to contact Camelot.

“He came back twice to tell me that he had won. He said he had given up his job. But he was about to retire anyway, I think, and only had 12 months to go.

“Everyone has been talking about it since he won. There were a couple of winners before I had the shop, but nothing as big as this.”

Lottery bosses were unable to confirm whether Burnley was home to the scratchcard winner, who is believed to have opted to remain anonymous.

A Camelot spokesman said only the names of winners who choose to go public could be confirmed.

Only four first prizes are understood to be up for grabs for the Gold game and according to the website only one £4m remains.

The win would make the man Burnley’s most successful Lottery winner. Burnley student Roxanne Newton won £40,000 a year for life on the Rich for Life game in 2007.