TWO ticketholders stepped forward yesterday to claim their half of a staggering £91 million Euromillions jackpot.
The winners will receive more than £45.5 million each when their tickets are validated, possibly later today.
The identities of the new multi-millionaires have yet to be revealed but their win sets a new record. The previous biggest winner was An
gela Kelly, a postmistress from Glasgow, who won £35,425,411 in August 2007.
Yesterday she sent this message to the new winners: "I want to congratulate the lucky winners on taking my National Lottery title. My win has enabled me to bring a great deal of happiness to my friends and family, which has in turn made me very happy."
A lottery spokesman said: "No further details on the tickets or ticketholders will be released until the tickets have been fully validated and prizes paid out."
If the ticketholders are individuals rather than syndicates, they will be catapulted straight into the list of the nation's richest people.
Wealth of that magnitude would put them in the same league as supermodel Kate Moss, DJ Chris Evans, chef Jamie Oliver, Cliff Richard and actor Sir Michael Caine, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
The winning numbers were 11, 19, 34, 43 and 45. The Lucky Star numbers were 5 and 9.