EuroMillions £161m win claimed by Scottish couple

Chris and Colin Weir from Ayrshire ‘tickled pink’ by winning Europe’s biggest lottery draw Husband and wife Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Ayrshire, have won the £161m jackpot in Europe’s biggest lottery draw. The winning numbers in Tuesday’s EuroMillions draw were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10. The couple banked the entire jackpot – £161,653,000 – after several rollovers. They were unveiled as the winners on Friday at the Macdonald Inchyra hotel in Polmont, near Falkirk. The couple have been married for 30 years and have two children. Colin Weir, 64, who has worked as a TV cameraman and studio manager for 23 years, said: “When we first realised we had won, it felt like a dream. Everything went into slow motion. But it feels like a good thing; something we should not be afraid of but for us to enjoy with the children. “All our lives we have lived within our means and been comfortable. We appreciate that this money brings about a whole new life for us and our family. “We now have so many new opportunities to explore but we won’t rush it. For us, it will be a gradual change with choices to be made.” Chris Weir, 55, a former psychiatric nurse, said the couple were having a normal night in front of the TV on Tuesday evening until she checked the EuroMillions result at around midnight. “We had bought five Lucky Dips, as the jackpot was now so big,” she said. “I started circling the numbers I had matched but wasn’t doing very well. Then on the fifth line, all the circles seemed to join up. “I had all of them but couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I checked them three or four times before going back downstairs to find Colin. He knew immediately by my face and tone that something was up. “After checking many times together, the news gradually hit us. The Camelot line was closed for the night but we couldn’t sleep. We sat up all night and saw dawn come round the next morning. “We were tickled pink. I even had a glass of white wine, which is something I normally only do at Christmas. It really is unbelievable.” The couple, who have both had serious health conditions in recent years and been unable to work, are already thinking about new homes, cars and travel to China and Australia. They plan to buy homes for their son and daughter, who are considering their first driving lessons. The win will catapult the Weirs into 430th place in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, not far below David and Victoria Beckham. The jackpot was capped at €185m after a series of rollovers made it the largest ever in Europe. Angela Kelly, from East Kilbride, who won a £35,425,411.80 EuroMillions jackpot in 2007, had previously been Scotland’s biggest lottery winner. Scotland Europe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 15, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.