EuroMillions: UK’s record winners in first big purchase – a used Volvo

Britain’s biggest EuroMillions lottery winners have made their first big purchase – a used Volvo estate.

Married couple Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, spent £38,000 of their record-breaking £184million scoop on the understated grey V60.

One neighbour told The Sun that while they may be ‘mega lottery winners’ who could be off ‘living the high life’, the pair are ‘down-to-earth people who have worked their whole lives’.

They added: ‘The car is smart, respectable and sensible – just like Joe and Jess.’

The couple could have had their pick of any supercar, from a Bugatti, a McLaren or an Aston Martin.

But after going public with their win last month Joe admitted he is not ‘a great car person’, revealing his dream of trading in his small Hyundai for his dream motor – a Skoda Superb estate.

They scooped a record-breaking £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket in the draw on Tuesday May 10.

Joe, a communications sales engineer, and Jess, who runs a hairdressing salon with her sister, have been married for 11 years and have two primary school-aged children.

Mr Thwaite has two university-aged children from a previous marriage.

He said they went straight onto Rightmove to search for their dream home.

Asked how many bedrooms they looked at, Jess said: ‘It’s not the number of bedrooms, it was just the top amount you could spend.’

Asked what he had set as an upper price limit, Joe replied: ‘I don’t know, I think I got up to about £7 million and then I just thought I was being stupid. I thought “what are you doing?”

His wife said: ‘It was just for fun because we thought it wasn’t real. He just played for a minute and just dreamed for a minute.’

Joe added: ‘Yes, it was just a dream, like “imagine this”.’

The jackpot record was previously held by an anonymous ticket-holder who banked £170million in October 2019.

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