A COUPLE have told how their lives were turned upside down when they scooped £12.4million on the EuroMillions and gave away 30 cheques to friends and family.

Sharon and Nigel Mather from Sale, Greater Manchester, won the life-changing sum in 2010 after checking their ticket on their way home from a holiday.

Nigel, 55, was working as a hotel manager, and Sharon, 50, had just returned to work In finance at Trafford Council from maternity leave.

They picked up the ticket while on holiday and only discovered they had won when they returned home.

Sharon checked the number on TV while Nigel headed off to Tesco to get some food shopping.

It was a lucky dip that secured their win – and not the numbers Sharon usually chose for the Lotto draw.

"[I thought] there’s got to be something wrong," Sharon said.

"It just doesn’t happen to normal people like us. I phoned my husband and told him to come home quick and he thought something had happened to the kids or my dad.

"But I said 'No, I think we’ve just won the EuroMillions.'"

Getting choked up, as she looked back, she added: "It’s actually quite emotional when you think about it."

England were playing in the World Cup at the time of their win, making the Three Lion’s success in the Euros this summer a timely reminder of how their life changed for the better.

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With Nigel due to go to the pub to watch the game, Sharon made him stay home as she dealt with the shock of the win.

She told Manchester Evening News: "It was surreal. It was like you had come out of your body and looking down."

The couple's celebration ended up being quite modest as they ordered a Chinese takeaway – which they didn’t eat – and shared three bottles of Magners Cider.

The decision as to what their first purchase would be was a no-brainer – a bungalow for Sharon’s dad.

A year after their win they moved to nearby Bowdon – in the home they still live in now – and decided on a holiday home in Abersoch, north Wales.

After initially rejecting going public, Sharon and Nigel soon changed their minds when they realised that it would make helping family and friends more difficult and see them having to lie about their sudden windfall.

"It wasn’t about showing off,” Sharon said. "It was about helping the people close to us and not lying.”

And when it came to gifting some of their winnings to family and friends, it became a bigger operation – one Sharon says was reminiscent of the ‘Secret Millionaire’.

"My husband used to be a hotel manager and he made a spreadsheet and went round to about 30 friends and family’s houses and it was almost like Secret Millionaire.

"We have always said we class it as a responsibility to have that amount of money and we want to do good with it and not waste it or blow it." 

"We made a little card and put a cheque in it and gave it to them."

Nigel is also now the chairman of local charity Stockdales, which his mum used to work at.

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After going to visit with Christmas presents one year, they fell in love with the place and have regularly donated to them after their win, helping organise other fundraising events such as a golf day and an autumn ball.

'MUM HAVE WE WON THE LOTTERY?'

It has also been important for Sharon and Nigel to keep their sons grounded as they grow up with millionaire parents.

Reece is 15 and Lewis has just turned 12, making them just one and three at the time of their family’s massive news.

But, after the last 18 months, Sharon says they’re just grateful they’re all "still here and healthy".

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