No matter what you win you still need to show up for court or face jail time. That’s what a chip shop worker found out after winning a£1m on a national lottery scratch card in October. She flew off to enjoy a holiday instead of appearing as a witness in a criminal trial and was jailed for contempt of court.

When 21 year old, Leah Sumray, returned from her trip she was arrested at the Bristol airport. Now she has been sentenced to 14 days in prison and ordered to pay £200 costs. The judge presiding over the case called this "a flagrant and willful contempt of court for which there was no excuse whatsoever".

Detective Constable Martin Hearn said: "I spoke to her in Fuerteventura on Monday and warned her that her failure to appear would be regarded as a contempt of court and make her liable to arrest."

The trail went on as scheduled and the judge thought that the evidence lost by her absence had a significant bearing on the case. When the trail concluded, the prosecution applied for a warrant.

Sumray’s attorney claimed his client had apologized to the court, but she was young and naive and did not realize what a serious position she was putting herself in.

"I was stunned when I saw I had matched the winning symbol for a million pounds," she said at the time. "I was worried it had all been a dream - but it is a dream that had actually come true for me."


- 2008-01-12