An investigation is underway by the National Lottery after bosses became suspicious about a pair of scratchcard winners, British media report.

The National Lottery believes that Mark Goodram, 36, and Jon-Ross Watson, 31, used a stolen debit card to buy the £4million (4.6 million euros) ticket after it emerged that neither of them had a bank account.

They said the card they used belonged to a friend called John but ‘John’ was nowhere to be seen having gone ‘up North’, according to The Sun. Now bosses for the lottery have refused to pay the pair from Bolton while they carry out their own investigations.

Both of them have appeared on Bolton’s Most Wanted lists over the last few years for crimes in the town. Watson is believed to have several convictions including bank fraud.

Goodram was jailed for burglary last year, according to local reports.

He told the newspaper: ‘I’m off on a Caribbean cruise, then to Las Vegas. But I need a passport first.’