Winning Euromillions pair: It felt like a dream

A British husband and wife were this afternoon unveiled as Europe's biggest ever lottery winners.

The lucky pair, Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs, on the west coast of Scotland, scooped the EuroMillions £161 million jackpot on Tuesday night.

Their identity had been kept secret but they agreed to go public at a Camelot press conference at 2.30pm today.

They were unveiled as the winners at a hotel at Falkirk, near Edinburgh, in front of the world's media.

The winning numbers were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10. The couple banked the entire jackpot after several rollovers – a total of £161,653,000.

The couple have been married for 30 years and have two children.

Mr Weir, 64, who has worked as a TV cameraman and studio manager for 23 years, said: "When we first realised we had won, it felt like a dream.

"Everything went into slow motion. But it feels like a good thing; something we should not be afraid of but for us to enjoy with the children.

"All our lives we have lived within our means and been comfortable. We appreciate that this money brings about a whole new life for us and our family.

"We now have so many new opportunities to explore but we won't rush it.

"For us, it will be a gradual change with choices to be made."

Mrs Weir, 55, a psychiatric nurse, said the couple were having a normal night in front of the TV on Tuesday evening until she checked the EuroMillions result on Teletext at around midnight.

She said: "We had bought five Lucky Dips, as the jackpot was now so big.

"I started circling the numbers I had matched but wasn't doing very well. Then on the fifth line, all the circles seemed to join up. I had all of them but couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"I checked them three or four times before going back downstairs to find Colin.

"He knew immediately by my face and tone that something was up."

"After checking many times together, the news gradually hit us.

"The Camelot line was closed for the night but we couldn't sleep. We sat up all night and saw dawn come round the next morning.

"We were tickled pink. I even had a glass of white wine, which is something I normally only do at Christmas. It really is unbelievable."