£167m lottery jackpot is the biggest ever

Clamour for tickets after 8th rollover

LOTTO fever is sweeping the nation with a record £167million jackpot up for grabs this evening.

If won by a single ticket-holder here, tonight’s EuroMillions draw will catapult them to 672nd on the UK rich list.

The pot, the biggest yet in Europe, built up after there were no winning tickets in Friday’s draw – leading to an eighth rollover in a row. Lottery operator Camelot urged punters to buy tickets well before the 7.30pm draw as machines are expected to go into meltdown. Andy Carter, the National Lottery’s senior winners’ adviser, said: “Don’t leave it late and risk missing out on getting a ticket. Get online or visit a retailer to ensure you are in with a chance well before the draw closes.”

The current EuroMillions record holders, Colin and Chris Weir, of Largs in Scotland, won £161million in 2011. They have earned £5million a year in interest alone since their win and joked at the time about becoming as rich as David and Victoria Beckham overnight. A single winner this evening would top Sir Tom Jones’s £160million fortune and the combined £160million wealth of boyband One Direction.

Gillian and Adrian Bayford from Haverhill, Suffolk, are the UK’s secondbiggest winners, trousering £148million in 2012. And an anonymous ticket-holder won £113million in 2010.