Pensioner George Sturt, who still drives cabs for a living at the age of 76, along with his family of builders, have been named as the winners of a £26.1 million EuroMillions jackpot.
Hailing from Dorking in the UK, the widower plans to give the majority of his fortune away to charity and cancer research after the death of his wife to cancer six months ago.
Mr Sturt, who has eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren, is to share the win with three other members of his family syndicate – his daughter Teresa, 44, and sons Colin, 53, and Gary, 51.
After learning the news of his windfall, Mr Sturt walked into the offices of his local newspaper at lunchtime on Monday, announcing he had won the lottery.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found out,” Mr Sturt said.
“I don’t care about having a lot of money – I am just glad that my children will be looked after.”
The former builder said the jackpot, believed to be the fourth-biggest Euromillions won by a British ticketholder, would not translate into his retirement because he enjoyed driving cabs so much.
“I wouldn’t give it up,” he told the Dorking Advertiser.
“I have met too many nice people through it.”
His son Colin said to The Sun: “We had a bit of a drink-up to celebrate but the big knees up will come when the cheque is in the bank.”
“I am honestly still in a state of shock.
“This sort of thing happens to other people and not people like us – it is absolutely crazy.
“We put £4 each into a syndicate each week, but you don’t in your wildest dreams ever think you are going to hit it big like this. I mean it is over six million quid each.”
He continued: “It will be difficult to go back to building houses when you can afford to buy any house that you want.”
The winning ticket included the numbers 11, 26, 29, 49, and 50, with the lucky star numbers 4 and 7.
Mr Sturt was described as a “lovely bloke” and that he lived a humble life working as a taxi driver to make ends meet on his pensioner’s income.
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