Luckiest couple in Britain! Cirencester pair scoop the ?56m EuroMillions jackpot
The biggest lottery prize ever won in Britain has been claimed, it was revealed last night.
A couple from near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, are a staggering ?56.5million richer after being confirmed as the owners of a winning ticket from Friday night’s EuroMillions draw.
Rich list: A British couple have netted a record-breaking ?56m lottery prize
They will be named when they appear at a press conference in Bath today, lottery organiser Camelot said.
The pair immediately shoot to 980th place on Britain’s rich list, ahead of Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis, who have ?52million each, Guy Ritchie, who has a ?50million fortune, and ?45million Sir Michael Caine.
They will share the ?113million jackpot with the holders of one other ticket, which was bought in Spain.
But yesterday it emerged that the second winner could also be British.
Although they have not yet come forward, there is ‘a very good chance’ the winner is from Britain because the ticket was bought in a town where a majority of the residents are British expatriates.
Last night a Camelot spokesman said of the confirmed winners: ‘We are looking forward to welcoming this ticket holder to our millionaires’ club, which is already 2,400 strong.
‘EuroMillions players in the UK have contributed to the massive ?24billion raised for good causes across the last 15 years.
‘This latest winner continues the nation’s great run of luck with big EuroMillions winners.’
The tax-free payout outstrips the ?91million split between jobless Les Scadding, 58, from Newport, South Wales, and a syndicate of seven Liverpudlian call-centre workers last year.
Meanwhile speculation is rife among the British community in Mojacar in Almeria, southern Spain, about who might have become an instant multi-millionaire.
Cheers: Britain’s last EuroMillions winners Les and Samantha Scadding in 2007
A spokesman for the official operator for EuroMillions in Spain said: ‘Nobody has come forward to claim the prize so we have no idea yet if the winner is British or Spanish.
‘With such a large British population in Mojacar there is a very good chance the winner is British.
‘But if the winner does not want publicity, we won’t even be able to say what their nationality is.’
Mojacar has an English library, numerous British bars and even a branch of the Royal British Legion. One of its most infamous residents is one of the Great Train Robbers, Gordon Goody, a former Glaswegian hairdresser who was released from jail in 1975 and at one time ran a beach bar in the town.
The owner of the kiosk where the ticket was sold said it could easily be a British resident. Jesus Ibaqez said: ‘There are a lot of British and many of them buy their tickets here.’
Jackpot: Market day in Cirencester the home of the winning ticket
Pat Weston, who runs the Arriba Cafe Bar with husband Mike, said: ‘The whole town is talking about who won. One rumour was that the winner is a British bar owner.’
The winning numbers were 1, 5, 18, 38 and 45 and the Lucky Star numbers were 4 and 6.
The ?56.5million jackpot pushes Les Scadding and wife Sam and the Lucky Seven syndicate from Liverpool into joint second place on the National Lottery’s Rich List.
‘We can’t believe we have been knocked off the top spot so soon,’ Mr and Mrs Scadding said.
‘We wish the new winners all the very best and hope they enjoy their new lifestyle as much as we do ours.’
Angela Kelly, from Glasgow, who won ?35.4million in August 2007, also congratulated the newest winners, saying: ‘I hope they enjoy as much happiness as I have been able to share with my friends and family thanks to my win.’
EuroMillions tickets are sold in the UK, Spain, France, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland.
Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250423/Britons-lottery-frenzy-ahead-113m-EuroMillions-draw.html
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