A couple who used to live in Worcestershire have become Britain’s biggest ever lottery winners after scooping nearly £185 million.

Joe and Jess Thwaite, 49 and 44 respectively, bagged the record-breaking EuroMillions jackpot on Tuesday.

 

Links to Worcestershire

It is believed that the lucky couple lived in Pershore from 2009 to 2015, before moving to Pendock, near Ledbury, and more recently, Gloucester.

Jess manages a hairdressing salon in Tewkesbury with her sister, under the company name J & R Shearing.

Until March 2016, the company was registered at an address in Drakes Broughton.

Jess’ father, who died seven years ago, always dreamed of winning the lottery, a fantasy which has now come true for her.

 “The win gives us time to dream which we haven’t had before,” she said.

“My dad played The National Lottery all his life and constantly dreamed of winning.

''Maybe that is why I seem so chilled, as I’ve kind of been ready to win for years.”

Joe, a communications sales engineer, has been married to Jess for 11 years.

The couple have two primary school-age children, and Joe has two children at university from a previous marriage.

READ MORE: Who is the EuroMillions winner? What we know so far

Polocrosse connections

Jess has family links to polocrosse - a game that is a cross between Polo and Lacrosse. 

Joe bought the winning ticket on The National Lottery App at around 4pm on the day of the draw.

When he woke at 5.15am the next day to check on the dogs, he read the email which would change his life.

He said: “I looked it up and saw we’d won. I saw how much and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t go back to sleep.

The couple only recently moved into their new home, which despite needing a lot of work, offers space for family and their animals, including three dogs, five chickens, two geckos and three ponies.

They decided to go public on Thursday so they could get on with their new life.

Jess said, “I don’t want to lie to family and friends, I want to enjoy it with them.”