Couple who scooped £18m Lottery jackpot: We played the Lottery for our daughters

An elderly couple who were left over the moon after scooping £18 million today said: "We played the lottery for our daughters."

Dennis and Shirley Banfield and their daughters, Tina Burgess, 54, and Karen Maddock, 51, will split the windfall three ways, with each sister taking a third and their parents sharing theirs.

Mr and Mrs Banfield purchased a ticket at their local newsagent in Bristol opting for one line of lucky dip numbers for the Lotto on Saturday night.

The lucky couple said they will be splitting their millions with their two daughters and would be spending their share on helping people, a new car and a Mulberry handbag.

Mr Banfield, 87, who was in hospital over Christmas following an operation for a leg infection, said his daughters would get more benefit from the money, but if he could help anyone else, he would.

"All that has ever mattered to Shirley and I is that the girls are OK," he said.

"We joke that it is just a matter of time and we are playing the lottery for them, so that they are financially secure forever.

"To know they are is a wonderful feeling."

Mr Banfield, 87, said they found out they had won when his wife read out the numbers, commenting "Who'd have those numbers?"

To which he replied: "I do".

He added that his wife of 60 years went "berserk" and "fully up in the air" with excitement.

Mrs Banfield said the win had been a "complete and utter shock" but she had always wanted to win for her children.

Speaking about what they might buy with the windfall, Mrs Banfield, who worked as a local government officer and as a shop assistant before her retirement, said they might replace their three-door Nissan Micra with something a little roomier but "not a Ferrari or a Maserati".

She added that they might swap their three-bedroom house of 57 years for a bungalow but it would still have to have space for her keen amateur carpenter husband's workshop.

Mr Banfield, who worked for South West Electricity Board for 40 years, said he was looking forward to buying a tailored suit while mother-of-two Mrs Maddock said she had her eyes on a Mulberry handbag.

She added that she loves her job in healthcare and would be going in on Wednesday but had "no idea" beyond that.

Mrs Burgess, who said she has three fantastic grown-up stepchildren and works as a business relationship manager, said she is a rugby fan and wants to watch the Lions play in South Africa.

Mr Banfield, who served in the Army during his National Service, said he would use the money to help people, and they all agreed that top of this list was donating to charities, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, in memory of a family friend who died last year.

Mrs Burgess added: "It is not just the tangible things that the win will give us.

"The win means we can all take life a little calmer, enjoy our time together and share in the experience without worrying about food bills, mortgage payments or pension plans.

"Mum and Dad always said they played for us - I can't tell you how pleased I am they did."

Meanwhile, the Tuesday night draw for the Euromillions could make a single-ticket holder the UK’s third biggest lottery winner with a jackpot worth £141 million.

The mammoth estimated jackpot for the draw would leave a single player who matched all five main numbers and two Lucky Star numbers the 793rd richest person on the Sunday Times Rich List.

Players have until 7.30pm on Tuesday to buy a ticket, Camelot said.