ROCK fan Adrian Bayford and wife Gillian were rolling in it last night as they picked up their £148MILLION lottery win.
Adrian, 41, who runs a music shop in Haverhill, Suffolk, joked about spending some of it on a super-gig to celebrate. He grinned: “I’d have to get Guns N’ Roses together. I’m a real fan.”
The couple are now in the UK’s top 1,000 rich list.
Adrian and Gillian told yesterday how they celebrated their mega dough — with a takeaway pizza.
After realising they had won the couple told kids Aimee, six, and Cameron, four, they could choose a treat.
Excited Aimee squealed: “Have we earned enough money to go to Domino’s pizza for tea?”
Adrian and care assistant Gillian, 40, were still struggling yesterday to take in Friday’s EuroMillions jackpot — Britain’s second biggest win ever.
They celebrated F1-style with champagne as they picked up the cheque, which puts them among the country’s 1,000 richest people.
And Gillian, a Scot, confessed she has already bought another lottery ticket. She joked: “You know us — short arms and long pockets. But I sent the ticket to my mum.”
The couple — who live in a £200,000 three-bedroom detached house in Haverhill, Suffolk — have been struggling to make ends meet.
Adrian works during the day at a music shop he co-owns and Gillian does night shifts in a children’s ward at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge.
Adrian explained how he got an earful from his missus on Friday after realising he had landed £148,656,000 on a Lucky Dip — with numbers 11, 17, 21, 48, 50, and Star Numbers 9 and 10.
He said: “I saw that one person in the UK had won EuroMillions, but Gillian said she hadn’t had time to get a ticket.
“As a joke, I said neither had I, but I had five lines upstairs waiting to be checked.
ADRIAN and Gillian Bayford from Suffolk describe windfall as a "very nice feeling"
“Our children had woken up so while Gillian was trying to settle them back to sleep, I went to check the numbers.
“I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I rushed back and turned on the main light — at which point Gillian went ballistic.
“The kids really were awake by now. I was trying to tell her that we had won the lottery and she was telling me to keep the noise down.”
Gillian — who has recently lost SIX STONE in weight — revealed she didn’t sleep a wink that night.
She said: “Neither of us could quite comprehend just how much £148million is. We finally got the kids off at 2am but I was excited. I got the laptop out and was planning to buy the Audi Q7 car I have always wanted.
“The whole thing is just unbelievable. Adrian just went pale when he discovered the win, and he never goes pale.
“Finally we stopped and looked at each other, and just giggled.
“Our family thought we were a bit odd and playing a joke as we rang them laughing at 11.30pm. Finally they believed us. We will look for a new house but there is no rush. We need some time to take in the vastness of it all.
“Adrian works until 5pm at the shop and on nights I head off for a 6pm start so we work hard for our family and pass like ships in the night a lot of the time.”
She revealed that before the win things were so tight she was beginning to regret even buying new clothes for the kids last month.
Now she plans to give up work, adding: “It will be good to spend some proper time together. I want to be there for my family.”
Down-to-earth Adrian said: “I’m not a car fan, but I might buy a bit of a beast — a chunky car for a chunky guy.” The heavy rock fan, who quit school at 16, plans to expand his business the Suffolk Music Centre, which sells instruments as well as records and CDs.
Adrian joked about what “super-group” he would get together now he has near-limitless funds.
The Deep Purple and Iron Maiden nut said: “I think I would just have to get Guns N’ Roses together — the original line-up, mind. I am a real fan.
“Our business has been struggling in the economic climate but this could be just the boost we need.
“It certainly won’t be the last of me behind the counter, and we will be opening tomorrow I’m sure.”
Yesterday a note on the door of his shop in Haverhill read: Will be closed Tues 14. Open Weds 15.
Co-owner Richard Hudspith, 38, said: “This could not have happened to two nicer people. They will buy a new house, but it won’t be a 50-bed mansion. That is not what they are like.”
The couple have already had one incredible slice of luck ten years ago — they met when Adrian dialled a wrong number and Gillian answered. He wooed her 440 miles away in Dundee by saying: “I love the sound of your voice.” They married eight years ago.
Punters yesterday flocked to buy lottery tickets from the Premier convenience store, a few doors way from Adrian’s shop, where he bought his winning ticket.
Fari Nafi, 57, who runs the Star Express café in the same street said: “Adrian loves his food and comes here twice a week for a king-size burger and chips. He is a nice guy and deserves his win.”
The Bayfords’ jackpot is enough to buy ALL 168 properties up for sale in their home town — with £100million left over.
- LAST night’s £11million EuroMillions numbers were 1, 16, 38, 42, 45. Lucky Stars 9 and 10.
Fan richer than idols
MUSIC shop boss Adrian is now worth more than most of the heavy rock superstars he idolises.
His and Gillian’s £148million dwarfs the £10.5million amassed by Deep Purple legend Ian Gillan.
The wealth of David Coverdale — another singer with the band — is just £10million.
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, another of his heroes, only has a £28million fortune — and Guns N’ Roses guitar hero Slash boasts just £25million.
Even James Hetfield, frontman with the mighty Metallica, is a relative pauper in comparison despite being worth £110million.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4488040/148million-lottery-couple-are-totally-rock-n-rolling-in-it.html
