Thursday, December 29, 2005
Sun Onlune
THE couple who won the Christmas Eve Lotto jackpot today vowed that the mega
£15million windfall would not change their lives.
Gabrielle and Darren Nash, both 34, hit the jackpot after
choosing the same numbers every Saturday for 11 years.
The couple, from Stevenage in Hertfordshire, also revealed the win had been predicted by Gabrielle's mother in a dream.
Tottenham Hotspur fan Darren celebrated the news today with his wife at the club’s ground in White Hart Lane, north London.
He said they planned to use the cash to buy a new house, go on a shopping spree and buy a box where he can watch his team.
But rather than buy a flash sports car, he said he would replace the family Ford Galaxy with a newer version of the model.
Darren said: "Hopefully the plan will be to lead as normal a life as possible. Obviously we are going to look at things a bit differently now though.
"Hopefully it’s not going to affect me and hopefully my mates and buddies are not going to treat me any differently."
Mum-of-two Gabrielle realised she had won when her numbers flashed up on the television while she was ironing while Darren had a nap.
She said: "I had just switched over to watch Casualty when I saw the Lotto numbers. I recognised them straight away and shouted ‘They’re my numbers, we’ve won’."
Darren said: "When she said the numbers had come up, I just shot up."
The couple have used the same numbers, which are based on birthdays and anniversaries, since the Lottery began.
The Nashes, who have two young sons, aged three and four months, spent Christmas Day as planned at their home with Gabrielle's mother.
On Boxing Day they travelled to the Harlequin Shopping Centre in Watford to splash out on clothes.
Darren works as a car valet for Hitchin Audi while his wife is an
administrator for AFE Serviceline. They have not yet decided whether they will continue working.
Gabrielle said: "I’ve already visited the sales and picked up a few bargains. It’s a wonderful feeling not to have to worry about the cost of things. The win means the world to us and we can really secure the future and help our family."
The couple's winning numbers were 17, 21, 25, 27, 30 and 37.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy presented Darren with a signed Spurs shirt. Darren said he would not use the money to buy any players for Spurs as the team were already good enough.
