A couple that won a share of a £123million jackpot prize have revealed exactly how they plan to spend their earnings.
Richard and Debbie Nuttall, from Colne, Lancashire, won £61,708,231 after initially thinking they had won just £2.60. But they were in for a shock when the full amount was revealed, with the other winners having bought a ticket in Spain.
Speaking about the win at Mitton Hall Hotel in Clitheroe, Richard said: “It was the second day of our holiday and I had got up early to finish off a bit of work. I noticed the email from the National Lottery stating that there was ‘exciting news about your ticket’. So I checked my National Lottery account and saw the balance had gone up and we’d won £2.60. Fair enough.
“I shut my laptop, had breakfast and then we set off for the day, driving around the island. We enjoyed the sea views, blue skies and windsurfers before heading back.
“It was early afternoon when we spotted another email saying we should check our account. I thought it was odd and there must be a glitch in the system to get a duplicate email but I logged in again to my National Lottery account to check. We were totally stunned, it said we had won over £61million!”
The couple have planned how they are going to spend their money – with both Richard and Debbie admitting the first thing they did was quit their jobs.
Richard has already bought a new BMW X5 worth a staggering £128,000. He said he chose this model thanks to its extra big boot that was big enough to transport his golf clubs.
He added: “We just couldn’t make sense of it. My first thought was it must be a scam or there was some mix up. I know it sounds crazy but we couldn’t think straight. I tried calling The National Lottery’s number but my mobile phone signal was poor and the call just kept dropping. So I WhatsApped the family chat group asking for one of our daughters to call us urgently.
“My youngest came back quickly and we asked her to log into our National Lottery account from the UK and double-check,’ explained Richard. She put in my details and then just kept repeating ‘oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!’ It must be real, this was the official National Lottery website we were all looking at.”
The couple are also planning on upgrading their home, ensuring it’s big enough for their family Christmas get-togethers. They also said they are planning to purchase a holiday home in Portugal and hope to visit soon to start their search.
Debbie has already handed in her notice at her civil engineering job where she works as a Bidding & Estimating Support Assistant, while Richard, who is self-employed, is in the process of informing his clients he plans to retire.
Richard even has a ‘Golf Swing Room’ on his wishlist which will allow him to practice his hobby at home.
Debbie is hoping for a bigger garden with a greenhouse and extra room for their dog Monty.
