Couple Thought £53m Lottery Win Was April Fool

A retired couple from Lincolnshire have become one of the country's richest lottery multi-millionnaires after winning more than £53m.

Richard and Angela Maxwell, from Boston, banked £53,193,914 after winning the EuroMillions draw on Tuesday night.

The pair scooped the 10th largest sum since the National Lottery started in 1994.

It comes a day after another Lincolnshire couple beat odds of 283 billion-to-one to win £1m in the EuroMillions lottery for a second time.

The Maxwells have described how, when they first heard, they thought it was a joke.

Mr Maxwell, a semi-retired consultant in the poultry industry, said: "I always keep our lottery tickets in the kitchen drawer so I took a break and went online to check the results.

"I looked first at the two Lucky Stars and noticed we had those.

"Then I scanned across to the first main number and immediately knew they all matched our numbers.

"I checked again and again, five times in total, as I couldn't believe it.

"Then I saw only one ticket had won £53m and I was in shock. I thought someone had scanned my ticket somehow and put it on the website as a joke. It was April Fool's Day after all."

Mr Maxwell kept the win to himself for four more hours until wife Angela got home from helping at a local OAP luncheon club.

He said: "I knew Angela would be busy and wouldn't answer her mobile phone so I waited til she got home.

"I kept myself busy making cups of tea for the builders because I couldn't sit still but didn't say anything to anyone."

When his wife came back carrying a basket of tea towels and asking what they should do for dinner, Mr Maxwell said: "Angela, I've got something to tell you."

Mrs Maxwell said she also thought it was an April Fool, adding: "I didn't know what to think. Richard just went red in the face and then said 'we've won £53m!'."

When the couple called their two daughters, Sharon, 45, and Paula, 44, they, too, thought it was an April Fool's joke.

On Wednesday, Sky News revealed how David and Kathleen Long, from Scunthorpe, won £1m in Friday's draw, two years after picking up their first £1m in the same contest.

The record for the biggest National Lottery win is held by Colin and Chris Weir, from Ayrshire in Scotland, who picked up £161,7m in July 2011.