Family wins nearly £8m on lottery

Mr and Mrs Newton with their three children

The family celebrated their win of nearly £8m with a Chinese takeaway

Celebrations have followed a Kent family's massive lottery scoop of nearly £8m.

Ted Newton, 69, of Dartford, and his wife Marilyn will split their jackpot with their three married children.

He said the family's ticket had matched all the balls except the bonus, and when he checked his numbers on Thursday he thought they'd "won a few bob".

The family celebrated their win with a Chinese takeaway which they said they had to scrape together the cash for.

It is absolutely fantastic that we have not got to worry about the children or grandchildren

Marilyn Newton

Retired foreman Mr Newton, who was made redundant from his last post, said: "I was going to the shops because we wanted some bread to eat.

"There's a little bakery there and I was also passing a Costcutter. I saw somewhere it was a Rollover so I bought five Lucky Dip tickets.

"I didn't think about it after that. I put them in my pocket and forgot about it.

"On Thursday morning, I was sitting down, Marilyn was in the kitchen preparing something. I thought I should check those numbers.

"When I checked them, I saw we had got all the numbers but not the last one, the bonus. I thought we'd probably won a few bob."

Holiday cottage

Mrs Newton said she didn't believe the news that they had won £7,985,672 at first, and thought there had to be a catch.

"I couldn't believe that we had won that amount of money," she said.

She added: "I've always dreamed of going into a shop and saying 'I'd like to have that', without having to look at the price tag.

"On Sunday I went into a boutique and bought this outfit."

She said: "It is absolutely fantastic that we have not got to worry about the children or grandchildren. They are secure and that is the main thing for us. They are our life."

The couple, who are keen caravanners, said they did not plan to move away from Dartford, but were considering buying a holiday cottage. Mr Newton also wants to book a trip to see the Northern Lights.