A COUPLE from Weston are ‘over the moon’ after winning enough money to pay off their family’s mortgages after banking more than £1million on the National Lottery.

Weston Mercury: Lottery winners from Weston, Paul and Tanya Newton.Lottery winners from Weston, Paul and Tanya Newton. (Image: Archant)

Paul and Tania Newton’s winning numbers of 4, 7, 9, 10, 19 and 47 have a place close to their hearts as they are based on family birthdays and their house number.

Paul, aged 55, has used the same numbers ever since the lottery began, only ever changing two of them to add Tanya’s birthday and their house number.

Two numbers in particular – 4 and 10 – relate to Paul’s son Jack, who died when he was just one year old.

Paul said: “I have got three children, and the middle son, Jack, died when he was a year old. He would have been 27 now.

“You cannot change the feeling you have when you have children and that feeling for him.

“He has had a special impact on my numbers, 4 and 10 especially.”

Tania, aged 47, added: “In times of real struggle, if there’s anyone up there, for us, and especially for Paul, it’s Jack.”

Paul, who works for Tanglewood Guitars but is also a bassist in Weston band Eastertown, was waiting for a client in Yeovil when he saw the email from the lottery.

He said: “I thought it said £1,176 and thought ‘we have won some money, amazing’.

“My iPad froze so I checked it on my iPhone and realised it said £1,176,544.

“The chap I was waiting for arrived at work and I said I had a change of plan. I drove straight home to tell Tania.

“I have never driven so slowly in my life.

“We have 110 steps to our house and I wouldn’t tell her anything until we got inside.

“Once in there, I just yelled ‘we have won enough money to clear the mortgage, and once that’s done, we’ve got another million on top’.”

Tania, who works at The Food Den in West Street, added: “I thought maybe it was a mistake or it wasn’t real. It took a while for it to sink in. I really wanted to get excited but I wanted confirmation first.”

But once their money had been confirmed, they began to tell Paul’s children Max and Harvey, aged 28 and 22, and Tania’s daughter Lizzy, aged 24.

And Tania and Paul announced they would pay off their mortgages.

Tania said: “The thrill is helping the children because we socialise with family.

“The thrill is being able to say what every parent wants to say, we are going to help you. It was a dream, but now it’s a reality.”

Paul added: “The people who we love are going to be debt-free.

“It’s come at the right time. We understand the value of money and we have something for the future and the kids will be happy.”