Suffolk couple bag £148m Euromillions jackpot

A married couple with two young children have won a huge lottery jackpot....

16:06 14 August 2012

A married couple with two young children have won a huge lottery jackpot. The Suffolk-based husband and wife will collect £148m, the UK's second largest lottery prize in history.

 

  

Camelot has confirmed that Adrian Bayford, 41, and his 40-year-old wife Gillian, of Haverhill, scooped £148,656,000 and were the only winners in Friday's lottery draw.

 

Mrs Bayford - who thought her husband was joking when he related the news to her - is a health care assistant at the children's ward at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Her husband co-owns Suffolk Music Centre in Haverhill. They have a daughter, six, and a son, four. 

 

On the decision to go public with their win, they told a press conference: "Why hide anything? What's the point? It's not fair to put the burden [of secrecy] on anyone else."

 

They claimed that "lots of people will be happy" from the win and that they plan "to share it around". 

 

When asked what it felt like, Mr Bayford said it was "mindblowing". They claimed that they haven't bought anything yet and are in "no rush".

 

The couple were asked of their fears about the amount and replied that they are "grounded people" with a "strong network around" to help them.

 

They also revealed that until now, they were struggling to make ends meet and that this month they were concerned that they may not make it to pay day after spending a little extra on their children.

 

A National Lottery spokeswoman said: "We are looking forward to welcoming the ticket-holder into our millionaires club, joining the 2,900 millionaires created by the National Lottery to date". 

 

The winning numbers were 11, 17, 21, 48 and 50. The lucky stars were 9 and 10.

 

So far in 2012, it's only the seventh Euromillions jackpot to be won in the UK. 

 

While they now have ample funds, the couple are still a way behind the UK's biggest winner: Colin and Chris Weir from Ayrshire netted £161m in July 2011.

 

Camelot also stated that to date Euromillions players have raised £28bn for National Lottery Good Causes.