Peterborough couple took a week to claim £32.5m win

Lisa Cannings said carrying the winning ticket around for a week was "very nerve-wracking"

A couple waited a week to claim a £32.5m National Lottery win because they were having their house decorated.

Gerry Cannings, 63, and Lisa Cannings, 48, from Peterborough, won the jackpot in a draw on 13 February.

"It did mean that Gerry had to carry round the winning ticket in his wallet all week. It was very nerve-racking," said Mrs Cannings.

Retired teacher Mr Cannings bought the ticket while collecting fish and chips during a visit to his father in Slough.

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Mrs Cannings, who still works as a languages teacher, said: "I know it sounds mad, but we had a guy in to paint the whole house.

"We'd been planning it for ages and had packed everything into boxes.

"We just thought it would be easier to wait."

The couple, who have been married for 13 years and have three children and five grandchildren, appeared at a news conference at Orton Hall in Peterborough.

Former history teacher Mr Cannings said "it just didn't seem real" when he realised they had won and his father "didn't believe" him at first.

"It was only when our 11-year-old son read out the winning numbers on TV and they matched did Dad finally believe me.

"Our son asked what it meant. I just said 'Daddy's won an awful lot of money'."

The couple hope to buy a new house, a holiday to New Zealand and a spitfire trip, while Mr Cannings said he wants to upgrade his Skoda Octavia to a Volvo or a Skoda Superb, because he cannot currently fit his golf clubs in his boot.

What can you buy for £32.5m?

• A four bedroom flat in Mayfair

• Liverpool striker Christian Benteke

• 183 return trips to space on the Virgin Galactic

• A painting of horizontal and vertical lines on a white background

• A Greek island

• Half of a luxury motor yacht

They matched all six numbers - 15, 16, 23, 39, 48, and 59 - beating odds of 45 million-to-one to win the jackpot, which was the result of nine consecutive rollovers.

The £32,534,188 prize is the second biggest in Lotto's history.

David and Carol Martin took half of the £66m jackpot in January

Last month, a Scottish couple shared a record £66m jackpot with another winner, who asked to remain anonymous.

David and Carol Martin, from Hawick in the Scottish Borders, won £33,035,323 in the draw on 9 January following 14 rollovers.