KEY POINTS:
A teenager whose lottery win turned her into an overnight millionaire said that, when the truth sunk in, she screamed so much that it alarmed her dog, who bit her on the bottom.
Would-be lawyer Ianthe Fullagar, 18, from Ravenglass, Cumbria, won more than 7 million pounds (NZ$18.6m) in the EuroMillions lottery, on only the second occasion she had bought a ticket.
She was tempted to try after hearing that the jackpot was more than 100m pounds.
"At first I thought I had matched three numbers, so I couldn't believe it when I realised I had the five main numbers plus one Lucky Star," she said.
"I checked the ticket and saw that the average win for those numbers was 280,000 pounds and couldn't stop screaming. My mum called the National Lottery Line and it was only then that I realised I had won a share of the jackpot. We were both screaming so loudly that my dog, Brock, didn't know what was happening and bit me on the bottom."
She added: "After waking up everyone in the house and checking the numbers over and over again, we drank some Prosecco to celebrate and I called my boyfriend Sam.
"I didn't know what to do with my ticket, so after hiding it in my bra and jewellery box, I settled for my gym bag until it was confirmed I was a winner.
"It still hasn't sunk in yet but we have already celebrated with a traditional family party - beans on toast, curly fries, cider and loads of ice cream."
Miss Fullagar, who is on a gap year before she starts a law degree in 2009, said she would treat herself to a holiday in Egypt and buy a black Ford Ka, which will set her back about 10,000 pounds.
She will share the remainder with family and friends. Eventually, she hopes to run her own law practice.
Whether her wealth will bring happiness is an age-old question, to which a previous Lotto winner has not yet found the answer.
Callie Rogers, from Workington, Cumbria, won 1.9m pounds five years ago, when she was 16.
"The thing about money is you worry if you don't have it, and if you do have it, you wonder if it is going to last," she said.
But yesterday she added: "I am now settled, much more confident in myself and happy."
Fifteen winners will share the payout from Friday's draw, five from the UK.
- INDEPENDENT
