Lincolnshire couple win £53M EuroMillions jackpot
Richard and Angela Maxwell have become one of the country’s biggest ever National Lottery winners, but they thought it was all an April Fool’s joke.
Retired couple Richard and Angela Maxwell, both 67, from Coningsby in Lincolnshire are still pinching themselves after winning £53,193,914 in the EuroMillions jackpot draw on Tuesday 31 March 2015.
But both thought it was an April Fool’s Day gag when they first found out, with Richard convinced someone had scanned his ticket and put it on the website as a practical joke.
Richard, a semi-retired consultant in the poultry industry, was helping builders move bricks on garage work the couple are having done when he took a break to check his ticket on the National Lottery website.
Richard said: “I always keep our lottery tickets in the kitchen drawer so I took a break and went online to check the results. I looked first at the two Lucky Stars and noticed we had those. Then I scanned across to the first main number and immediately knew they all matched our numbers. I checked again and again, five times in total, as I couldn’t believe it.”
Richard immediately called Camelot to confirm the win and put his mind at rest – but kept it to himself for four more hours until Angela got home from helping cook for a local OAP luncheon club.
Richard said: “I knew Angela would be busy and wouldn’t answer her mobile phone. I kept myself busy making cups of tea for the builders because I couldn’t sit still but didn’t say anything to anyone!
“When Angela came back later that afternoon, she was carrying a basket of tea towels and she started asking me about our dinner plans. I immediately told her we weren’t going out for dinner. I said, ‘we can’t go out for dinner Angela, I’ve got something to tell you’.”
Angela said: “Richard just went red in the face and then said ‘we’ve won £53 million’. I said ‘don’t be stupid’ – he’s always playing jokes so I thought it was an April’s Fool! I just didn’t believe it. Then he showed me the numbers on the website and I dropped the basket of tea towels on the floor.”
The couple’s win has catapulted them into 10th place in the National Lottery Rich List. Top of the list are Colin and Chris Weir from Largs who banked £161 million in July 2011.
Richard said: “It’s a life changing amount of money – £1 million would have been amazing but £53 million enables you do so much, not just for you, but those around you. Our local community is really important to us in particular helping young people in the area. The win will enable us to spend more time getting involved as well as give financial support.”
Five fast facts
- 1. A EuroMillions Lucky Dip ticket scored the Maxwell’s their £53M win
- 2. It was bought from Mc Coll’s on Silver Street in Coningsby
- 3. The winning numbers were 8, 20, 24, 28, 49 and Lucky Stars 8 and 9
- 4. Richard’s planning to splurge on a top-of-the-range Range Rover
- 5. Angela’s looking forward to indulging in some designer handbags and shoes
The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,400 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.
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