Lucky trousers

AN Almeria man will now always check his pockets before putting his clothes in the washing machine.

For he came close to agonisingly missing out on a life-changing lottery win after forgetting to take his winning ticket out of his slack pockets.

His ONCE ticket worth 25,000 euros was reduced to three small pieces of pulp after enduring a full cycle.

However, the High Court in Madrid stepped in and spared his blushes after ruling that there was sufficient evidence to prove he was once the owner of the winning ticket.

A tiny piece sporting the ONCE colours of green and yellow with the letters ‘ON’ was deemed to be sufficient proof that he had bought the lucky ticket.

The court also took into account the testimony of the Benahadux shop owner who sold the ticket.