£56million EuroMillions winners reveals shock at scooping jackpot

Most people who discovered they’d won a staggering £56,008,113.20 on EuroMillions would probably dance with joy. Or scream. Or burst out laughing.

But Nigel Page was so flabbergasted when the message breaking the news popped up on his computer he simply stood in open-mouthed silence – and pointed at the screen.

His equally stunned partner Justine Laycock read the words and gasped: “Nige! You’ve won £56million!” Nigel, shaken out of his trance, turned to her and replied: “And 20 pence.”

Nigel, 43, and daughter Ella, 12, were watching TV on Saturday morning when they heard someone in Britain had shared the enormous jackpot with a winner in Spain.

He said: “I logged onto my account on the computer and it said ‘Congratulations you have won £56 million and 20p.’ I started shaking and couldn’t speak. I couldn’t say a word and ran upstairs and woke Justine.”

Justine said: “It was so strange because the night before I’d been out with friends and work colleagues and I had bought a ticket as well. We’d been having a scream talking about what we would do if we won.

“I joked with my friend Michelle the machine would explode and smoke would come out of it with glitter and ticker-tape. Then somebody would sing Congratulations and six gold-painted Egyptian men would come and carry me off. The reality was slightly different.

“Nigel woke me in his knee-length red pyjamas and a hoodie. All he said was ‘I need you urgently.’ I thought something awful had happened.

“But he took me to the computer. He lost his voice, he couldn’t speak, he was just pointing at the screen.

“Then we stood there laughing. It was such an amazing feeling.”

Daughter Georgina, 15, greeted the news with the enthusiasm typical of the average teenager.

Justine said: “When we told her she just said ‘Whatever’.”

The win has transformed Nigel, who runs his a property maintenance firm, into the 980th richest person in Britain – ahead of household names such as Liam Gallagher and Sir Michael Caine.

He and Justine, 41, who have three children from previous marriages, have been living together for eight years.

If they invest their win it will earn them £2,281,856 interest a year – £190,154 a month. Nigel will now give up his business and concentrate on his hobby of sky diving.

He said: “I want to spend more time doing sky diving. I want to build myself a wind tunnel so I can simulate the rush of air you get jumping out of a plane.

“I’ve jumped 12,000ft but that’s nothing compared to how I’m feeling now. I’m also going to treat myself to a car because I’m a white van man.

“I haven’t had a car for 10 years. I was going to get a bigger white van but I’ll probably go a bit up-market now, maybe a BMW X5 or a Range Rover.”

Nigel hit the jackpot after buying two lucky dip tickets on the internet. He celebrated his monster win with Justine and the kids yesterday with a bacon butty in a Waitrose cafe near their semi-in Cirencester, Glos.

He said: “We sat there at the table in silence. We couldn’t even swallow, it was such a shock.” Justine, who also has an 11-year-old son named Jacob, intends to quit her job as a negotiator with an estate agent and splash out on a sports car. She added: “I’d also love to live in a house big enough that we can open the back door and throw a ball for the dog – but we want to stay in Cirencester.

“Marriage is something we will consider when we’ve had a chance to think about it and everything settles down.”

Justine’s ex husband Mark Laycock, 43, was delighted for her. He said: “I’m just really pleased for them all. It’s brilliant news.

“It’ll be a great thing for Georgia and Jacob, for their future. They are made for life now. I’ve just tried to ring them but they are busy having family photos taken.” Former neighbour Laura Rose, 38, who still lives a few streets from Nigel and Justine, said the win could not have gone to a nicer couple.

She added: “Justine likes the finer things in life – so she will spend.”

“But they’re nice people – a lovely couple. Justine’s very outgoing. Nigel’s quiet.”

Nigel spent £2 on the EuroMillions draw using some of the £55 he won on the lottery last Wednesday. His lucky numbers were 1,5,18,38 and 45 and the Lucky Stars were 4 and 6.

Dad: I didn’t believe them
When Justine told her dad, he thought she was joking – and went down the pub.

She phoned Colin Palmer on Sunday and made sure he was sitting down before revealing the EuroMillions windfall.

He said: “I told her, ‘Well done’ but to be honest I thought she was making it up.

“I went to the pub that night, told my mates and we just laughed at how good it would be if she had actually won. I’d forgot all about it. But then I woke up and read about it.

rest at mirror.co.uk