'My dad won EuroMillions jackpot but it ripped family apart and led to horror showdown'
A family syndicate in Ireland has finally claimed their record-breaking £216million EuroMillions jackpot after weeks of speculation. The winning ticket was purchased at Clifford's Centra in County Cork, and the lucky family has chosen to stay anonymous.
One member of the family remarked: "We're planning to remain in Ireland, and we promised ourselves that we wouldn't let this win change us." Another quipped: "I'll still be having my favourite ham and cheese sambo for lunch every day." However, not all EuroMillions winners have a fairy-tale ending.
In the UK, one family's life was torn apart by the winnings. We delve into the remarkable story below.
In 2012, Alex Robertson won a slice of a £38million jackpot with a group of 11 other bus drivers from Corby, Northants. His sons, William and Alex Jnr, anticipated receiving a share of their father's £3.1million windfall. Instead, they were reportedly left with just 200 cigarettes.
Unsatisfied, the brothers resorted to vandalising their father's luxury cars.
Alex Jnr, now in his late 40s, confessed: "We ended up taking hammers to his two new 4x4 Shoguns. We walked up his driveway at 11 o'clock at night and put two claw hammers through the windows of the car. We then reported ourselves to the police."
He previously disclosed: "The lottery win was the worst thing that ever happened to us – it ripped our family apart."
Their father also previously spoke about the lottery win, labelling it as "life-changing". He planned to take his elderly mother to Australia to visit her twin sister.
However, relationships with his sons soured and he accused William of harassment and sending threatening texts.
William was charged with harassment but before he could appear at Northampton Magistrates' Court in 2013, the case was dismissed. This was because Alex Snr, who was 77 at the time, did not want to return from Spain to testify.
Despite this, Ireland's recent EuroMillions winning syndicate perhaps needn't worry, as the previous record holders in the country managed just fine.
Dublin farmer Matt Rogers was part of a family syndicate that won £151million in February 2019. He and his eight siblings pledged to stay humble and they did just that by celebrating with a cheap carvery dinner.
Matt, who purchased a Peugeot SUV, continued living in the farmhouse where he and his siblings were raised, and stayed in an outhouse while renovations were carried out.
As for advice for the latest syndicate EuroMillions winners, he simply advised them to stay "grounded".
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