Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Sussex has been a lucky county over the years, with local winners scooping hundreds of millions.

After a UK ticket holder won £171 million in this year’s EuroMillions jackpot on Friday, we look back on a number of winners from Sussex over the years.

Only 16 UK players have ever won a jackpot worth more than £100 million, and Friday’s win was the third biggest ever.

In 2019, a Selsey builder who won £105 million promised to go back to work, despite the big cash prize.

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.

After the win, Steve said he would carry on working, claiming he’s 'not the sort of person to sit around doing nothing.'

In February 2021, an anonymous man from West Sussex known only as Mr B won just over £1 million after a double win on the EuroMillions. He struck gold in the September 5 draw, matching the Millionaire Maker code, as well as two numbers and a Lucky Star number in the main draw.

In December, a Sussex father of two scooped more than £1 million on the National Lottery. Paul Macdonald, 48, joked that it was his reward for doing the Christmas decorations for his daughter. After decorating the family home in Bexhill, East Sussex, with tinsel and Christmas lights, he checked his emails and saw one congratulating him on his win.

Assuming it was a lucky dip or £30, he logged on to find a staggering £1,063,516 in his account.

Sussex residents have had similar luck in the People’s Postcode Lottery. Alongside several smaller wins, seven neighbours in Worthing netted a share of £270,000 last year, after their postcode was announced as a winner in the competition.

The residents took home £30,000 each, with another two netting £60,000 each, since they played with two tickets.

EuroMillions: Here are Sussex’s biggest lottery winners over the years following this week's £171m prize win