EuroMillions: Here are Sussex’s biggest lottery winners over the years following this week's record £195m prize win

Sussex has been a lucky county over the years with lottery winners scooping hundreds of millions.
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After this week’s £195m prize win, the biggest jackpot in the game’s history, we look back at some of the most impressive wins within our communities.

A Selsey builder who won £105million in 2019 promised to go back to work despite the huge EuroMillions jackpot win.

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Self-employed builder Steve Thomson, 42, and his wife Lenka, a 41-year-old shopworker, were revealed as the winners of the £105,100,701.90 jackpot, on what was the 25th birthday of The National Lottery’s first ever draw – becoming the ninth biggest winners ever in the country at that time.

Lottery winners Steve and Lenka Thomson from SelseyLottery winners Steve and Lenka Thomson from Selsey
Lottery winners Steve and Lenka Thomson from Selsey

After the win, Steve said he would continue working as he is ‘not the sort of person to sit around doing nothing’.

Steve regularly takes part in the lottery and, as always, had bought his ticket from the local Pretty’s Newsagents in Orchard Parade.

In February 2021, an anonymous West Sussex man, known only as Mr B, won more than £1million with a double win on the EuroMillions.

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Mr B struck lucky in the February 5 draw, matching the Millionaire Maker code and matching two numbers and one Lucky Star number in the main draw.

The mystery man won £1,000,0003.60.

Later that year, in December, a father-of-two scooped more than £1m on the National Lottery and believed it was his reward for putting up the Christmas decorations for his young daughter.

Paul McDonald, 48, had promised his youngest daughter he would decorate their family home in Bexhill, East Sussex, with tinsel and lights.

He spent his Sunday afternoon doing it on December 12, and had just finished when he checked his emails and saw one congratulating him on his win.

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He assumed it was a Lucky Dip or £30, but then he logged into his account and saw the whopping Lotto prize amount - £1,063,516.

It’s not just the National Lottery that makes people rich in Sussex, as many have had success in the Postcode Lottery.

There have been multiple small wins, but seven neighbours in Worthing netted a share of £270,000 last year after their postcode was announced as a winner with People’s Postcode Lottery.

The residents playing in BN11 4DP took home £30,000 each, with a further two taking home £60k each, thanks to playing with two tickets.