This is the incredible moment a couple's shocked reaction was captured after finding out they'd won a life-changing lottery prize.
Laura Hoyle, 40, and Kirk Stevens, 38, matched all five main numbers plus the Life Ball to win the top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years in the Set For Life draw on 1 March 2021.
In an emotional clip that has now been released, the couple are told they've won big in a life-changing phone call with Camelot.
During the video, filmed by Kirk on his mobile, a shocked Laura asks the National Lottery operator to confirm that she has won the jackpot, saying that she wants to make sure that it's right before "I quit my job".
The operator tells her that she has won the Set For Life draw, which has a top jackpot of £10,000 a month, every month, for 30 years, saying "I can confirm that is definitely real."
Her shocked reaction is captured in real-time as her partner Kirk laughs excitedly in the background.
The clip finishes with the operator asking the couple if they know what they wants to do with her money, with Laura replying "No!" and laughing in disbelief.
Recalling the call more than a year later, Laura, from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, said: “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!
“And the ridiculous part was that, as I waited for Camelot to call me back, I still had to join work meetings online. I could hardly speak, let alone make any sense!”
After the win was confirmed but before the call had ended, Kirk had opened the first of four bottles of prosecco.
Since the win, Laura has given up work, manufacturing engineer Kirk is continuing a degree course, the couple have bought a house and the winnings have enabled them to indulge a passion for ghost-hunting.
Reflecting on the past year, Laura said: “It still hasn’t really sunk in. I say that, yet I immediately quit my job and I’m doing stuff I normally wouldn’t have been able to do. I guess it’s all still surreal.
"I am so chilled about everything now, very relaxed and that is what the win has done for me.”
Kirk commented: “I’m in my last year of my Master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
“As Laura said, the win has enabled us to relax about bills. I have used the winnings to pay for the course.”
The 38-year-old, who plans to open a business making paranormal investigation products, added: “I want to continue working and progress, which was the reason for the Masters.”
He said of his planned business venture: “I know what people want, I have the skill set and I now have the opportunity to make it work.
“Winning Set For Life has given us the best of both worlds. We are doing what we want to do and because we have this money every month, for life, we are so chilled and relaxed about things, enabling us to keep our feet firmly on the ground.”
Camelot’s Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at The National Lottery, said: “I’ve seen every type of emotion when delivering the big news. Tears, laughter, screaming, absolute silence and total disbelief – just like Laura’s reaction.
“Some put on their posh ‘telephone voice’, while others like Laura and Kirk are just themselves, and the beauty of their winning moment is that it was captured on camera!”
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