£18m Lotto couple’s dream... a bungalow!
Britain’s oldest winners celebrate by downsizing
FOR most of us, an £18million lottery win means we could finally splash out on a bigger house or flash new car.
But not for grandparents Dennis and Shirley Banfield, who want to use their jackpot to downsize to a bungalow to spare them the hassle of installing a stair lift.
The church-goers became Britain’s oldest lottery-winning couple when their lucky dip ticket matched six numbers in Saturday’s draw.
Mr Banfield, 87, and his wife, 83, have no desire for drastic change but could swap their £300,000, three-bedroom semi in Winterbourne, Gloucestershire, for a home which is easier to manage.
‘We’ve lived in our home for almost 57 years and brought up our two daughters there,’ said retired civil servant Mrs Banfield. ‘We bought it for £2,095 in 1962.
‘Dennis is a very good handyman and he decorated everything. We love it but perhaps if it is time to say goodbye we might get a bungalow.
‘I just applied to get a stair lift from social services and I got a letter today saying it will be fitted soon.’
They also plan to swap their three-door Nissan Micra for a roomier model but ‘nothing like a Maserati or Ferrari’.
Other items on their modest wish list include a tailor-made suit and a bigger carpentry workshop for Mr Banfield. He stressed, however, that there was little else he wanted to change.
The couple, who mark 61 years of marriage next month, will share their winnings with daughters Tina Burgess, 54, and Karen Maddock, 51, plus donate a chunk to cancer charities.
Ex-RAF serviceman and electricity board worker Mr Banfield is the oldest Lotto punter to win £1million-plus at two years more senior than the previous record-holder.
He broke down in tears yesterday as he told a press conference: ‘We’ve always been happy, we’ve always been comfortable and we are blessed to have two beautiful grown- up daughters. There’s nothing about our lives that we would want to change.
‘All that has ever mattered to Shirley and I is that the girls are okay. We joke it’s just a matter of time and we are playing the lottery for them so that they are financially secure forever. To know they are is a wonderful feeling. We’ve always worked for our money, we’ve done our time.
‘All this win means is we can take life a bit calmer and enjoy the rest of our retirement together.’
The family celebrated with a meal out at a pub carvery after finding out on Sunday morning that they had matched six numbers: 5, 8, 9, 10, 38 and 53.
Mrs Burgess said she might travel to watch the Rugby World Cup in Japan next year and could also buy a box at Twickenham.
Mrs Maddock plans to spend the money helping her two children and will return to work today as a part-time nursing assistant at the Bristol Heart Institute.
She was overcome with emotion as she said donations will also be made in memory of a close friend’s daughter who died last year aged 23. Money will go to the Teenage Cancer Charity and oncology unit at Bristol Royal Infirmary.