Lottery-winning couple to follow designer dreams after landing top prize

A lottery-winning couple are set to follow their dreams of becoming home and furniture designers after winning £10,000 every month for the next 30 years.

Rolls-Royce engineer Kirk Stevens and his partner Laura Hoyle landed the top prize on the National Lottery’s Set For Life draw on March 1.

Ms Hoyle, 39, handed in her notice as an area manager for a delivery firm and returned her company car after her win, before “trying out a Porsche Cayenne”.

I did get an alert just after the draw saying there was ‘good news about my ticket’ but I assumed I had won a fiver

The couple, from Hucknall near Nottingham did not realise they had won the top prize for 13 days despite receiving a notification promising “good news about my ticket”.

Ms Hoyle explained: “I did get an alert just after the draw saying there was ‘good news about my ticket’ but I assumed I had won a fiver.

“I had received the same message before so didn’t think too much of it.

“I even kept on playing for several more Set For Life draws before I got an email from Camelot requesting I log into my account and check my messages.

“I finally checked the app and saw there were lots of notifications there. It was then that the penny finally dropped that we should call Camelot fast.”

Speaking about how she felt after the win, Ms Hoyle continued: “I was working from home that afternoon and stopped immediately to call Camelot.

“I was physically shaking as I told the lady, ‘I think I’ve won the lottery’.

“It was so weird saying those words. I kept thinking ‘this must be a joke, it can’t be happening to us’.”

The couple celebrated with four bottles of prosecco as Ms Hoyle admitted she “couldn’t sleep a wink”.

Mr Stevens, 37, said it took him a while to convince his mother they had won the top prize.

He said: “We called our parents first to tell them the news. Laura’s mum really wasn’t sure and decided to wait until we had it confirmed by Camelot before offering her congratulations.

“My mum was even more sceptical. She put the phone down on me three times.

“She kept saying ‘you are having me on. I don’t believe you’.

“When I called her back a third time, she said ‘get Laura to call me’ and put the phone down again.”

Mr Stevens said he had no plans to leave his job at Rolls-Royce and intended to finish his degree in advanced manufacturing systems with Brunel University London.

But his partner handed in her notice and has already made the couple’s first big purchase.

Ms Hoyle said: “We were suddenly without a car and I told Kirk I needed a run-around for me and the dogs.

“Before we knew it we were trying out a Porsche Cayenne.

“This win, with the help of my savings, has meant we could put down a deposit on the Porsche and use it straight away.

“It is amazing to drive and even the dogs seem rather pleased with their new surroundings.”

Ms Hoyle hopes to use her interest in home makeovers and design to set up a property management business, while her partner intends to set up his own workshop to design and create bespoke wood furniture on his weekends off.