Joy as fortysomething couple scoop £101m EuroMillions jackpot

-Winners are Dave and Angela Dawes from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
-They will make up to 20 friends millionaires
-Pair were watching live on television as numbers came up
-Couple aren't married but Angela took her partner's surname after divorce
-They share £70 per week one-bedroom flat but will buy a property in Chelsea
-Dave phoned in sick at Premier Foods two days after scooping jackpot
-Couple plan to get married in Portugal next year

By Rob Cooper


Winners: Dave and Angela Dawes celebrate winning £101m as they are presented to the media at a press conference


A couple who scooped £101million on the EuroMillions draw have vowed to make 20 of their friends millionaires overnight as they give away a large chunk of their jackpot.

Dave and Angela Dawes, who share a £70 per week one-bedroom flat, had only played twice before when all their numbers came up on Friday.

Mr Dawes, 47, a shift supervisor for Premier Foods said he and his partner Angela, 43, a volunteer for the British Heart Foundation, were watching the draw live as all their numbers came up.

Jackpot winners: Dave and Angela Dawes, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, hold their £101million cheque. The couple are not married but plan to tie the knot next year


But after scooping the big prize they have vowed to help out their family - and give millions to charity.

Mr Dawes told a press conference today: 'We have a list of 15 to 20 people who we are going to make millionaires. Anyone who has helped us through our life.'

Ms Dawes, 43, added: 'It's an excessive amount of money but we intend to make our friends and family millionaires.'

She said that they had already broken the news to some of the people that they would be helping.

'They are absolutely gobsmacked, amazed. Obviously it's exciting for us and exciting for them,' she said.

They are also hoping to donate money to a number of charities but they have not yet decided which ones these will be.

The couple, who have been together for four years, are planning on getting married in Portugal next year. One of their first purchases will be a new engagement ring for Angela to replace her current one which cost £800.

They currently live together in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, but are planning on buying a flat in Chelsea as they go on a shopping spree.

Dave, who has an 18-year-old child, worked 12-hour shifts as a forklift truck driver for Premier Foods, who are Britain's largest food producing company.

Divorcee Angela decided to change her name to something completely new after splitting from her former husband - and opted to take Dave's surname after she met him.

She told a press conference: 'We couldn't afford to get married and decided, as we were going to get married in the future, I would change my name to his anyway,' she said.

Big winners: Dave plans to buy Angela a new engagement ring before they tie the knot next year. She changed her surname to Dawes after getting divorced

Humble: Dave and Angela Dawes share a one bedroom £70 per week flat in this block in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

They are planning to buy properties in London and abroad, and are looking forward to a trip to Las Vegas and a skiing holiday in Switzerland in the coming months.

But the windfall will also give them a chance to help friends and family close to them.

Angela, who has a son from a previous marriage, said her father who doesn't drive had put in a request for a 1927 silver ghost Rolls Royce in blue.

Mr Dawes is an avid Chelsea fan, having been a steward at the club in the past, so a season ticket is also on the shopping list.

He said: 'I'm not worried about getting a box - I want to stand with the real fans and watch my team play.


Shopping spree: Dave and Angela are planning to buy properties in London and abroad, and are looking forward to a trip to Las Vegas and a skiing holiday in Switzerland in the coming months

Big winners: Dave and Angela's windfall catapults them into 703rd place in the UK's rich list


'I'd also love to live near the ground and have Frank Lampard come over for a cup of tea!'

The winning line was a selection of randomly chosen numbers and the ticket was bought from WH Smith in Market Place in Wisbech.

He told a press conference in Hatfield Heath, Hertfordshire: 'We were watching TV and the EuroMillions draw show came on so we kept watching, not thinking we would win anything.

'We got our tickets out and watched in shock as, one by one, the numbers came up on the line I'd chosen.

'We couldn't believe it! It was too late to call Camelot so I kept the ticket on me all night until the morning but we didn't sleep a wink.'

The couple's jackpot win catapults them into 703rd place in the UK rich list - and makes them £1million richer than pop star David Bowie.

They telephoned Camelot on Saturday to report that they had matched the seven winning numbers.

Dave said they were watching the draw live as all their numbers came up.

The numbers from Friday night’s draw were 18, 26, 34, 38 and 42.
The Lucky Star numbers were 5 and 8.

Ann Seppel, from the British Heart Foundation, said they were delighted for fellow volunteer Angela who had scooped the big prize.

'We are all very pleased for them and had no idea until it was announced this afternoon,' she said.

'Angela lives locally and has been coming in to help for the last couple of years.

She works on the till and helps sort out and price up the jewellery.

'We hope she will pop back in and see us.'

The biggest ever EuroMillions prize won in Britain was a £161million jackpot won by Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Scotland, back in July.

Smart town: The couple are from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and bought their winning ticket from the local branch of WH Smith

Big result: Chelsea fan Dave Dawes holds his team's shirt with £101million printed on the back. The windfall is enough to buy £50million striker Fernando Torres twice

Marriage plans: Angela Dawes was wearing her engagement ring at the press conference. Dave is planning on buying her a new one now they have scooped the £101m prize


The second largest was claimed by a single ticket-holder, who chose to remain anonymous after scooping £113m in October last year.

The fourth-biggest EuroMillions prize winner in the UK won £84million last May.

In February 2010, Nigel Page and Justine Laycock, from Gloucestershire, broke the then record with a £56million win – now the fifth-biggest prize in the history of EuroMillions.

The sixth-biggest payout went to Les and Sam Scadding in South Wales who won £45millon in November 2009.


£101m? Pah, we won £161m: Back in July, Colin and Chris Weir won the largest ever EuroMillions jackpot


The millionaires will now be able to buy six of the world’s most expensive watches – a diamond-encrusted timepiece from Chopard costing £15millon each.

Or they could treat themselves to 720 pairs of the world’s most expensive shoes – the £140,000 diamond-encrusted heels made by the House of Borgezie.

They could also buy 600 top-of-the-range sports cars – the Ferrari 458 Italia costs a mere £170,000.

For a party to celebrate the win, they could easily afford Barbadian singer Rihanna, who charges £500,000 for a performance.

But if they wish to avoid long-lost family members who are no doubt set to come out of the woodwork, the winners could escape to their own private island, such as £100million Rangyai near Phuket in Thailand.

The 110-acre private island boasts white beaches as well as tropical forests.


source:dailymail