Sussex man claims biggest ever lottery win

6:02am Wednesday 15th August 2007

Comments (24)   Have your say »

A man from Sussex was last night claiming Britain's biggest ever lottery jackpot.

Fergus Frater, from Bognor, has told friends and family he has landed the £35,425,411.80 Euromillions rollover.

Speaking from her home in Tamarisk Close, Bersted, Mr Fergus' sister, Lorraine, told The Argus he was planning to put his feet up and return to his native Scotland.

She said: "He told me he won the lottery and has just totally disappeared off the face of the Earth ever since."

Mr Frater has told other family members he's scooped the lucky jackpot and was last night thought to be holed up in a Scottish hotel before being unveiled to the world today.

Camelot is set to confirm his success at an official press conference this morning.

Bersted residents expressed their shock at the win but said Mr Frater deserved it.

Tammy Conner, 45, a neighbour of Mrs Frater, said: "He's a lucky so and so isn't he?

"I can't believe it. It's one thing to win the lottery but to scoop so much in one go is unbelievable.

"Still I'm sure he deserves it and will put it to good use."

Punters in the nearby Bersted Tavern also said they could not believe the size of the jackpot.

Mike Sanders, 36, from Bersted said: "What a jammy dodger. I hope he comes down here and buys us all a pint.

"Fair play though, I'd love to have that kind of money. Who wouldn't?"

Rumours began to circulate that the winner of Britain's ever biggest lotto jackpot came from the Bognor area yesterday morning.

The draw of the lucky balls 23, 40, 42, 43 and 49 and lucky star numbers 2 and 6 was made on Friday night but lay unclaimed until Monday.

Some said the golden ticket was bought from Morrisons in Bedford Street, Bognor, but yesterday a staff member denied the whisper.

"As far as I know, they didn't buy it from here," she said, adding that a woman customer had told colleagues that her relative was the winner.

Another local said she had heard the winner was a Bognor man who had moved to Littlehampton.

She said: "People are saying lots of things. I'd heard he'd lost the ticket."

A spokesman from Camelot refused to say whether the rumours were true, saying: "I cannot confirm or deny anything until tomorrow."

The win has strangely similar parallels with the plot of a book by Bognor cartoonist and author Mike Jupp.

His 1996 novel, Retribution, is about a family who move to the fictional town of Bogham (based on Bognor) after winning the biggest lottery payout ever.

It could prove to be a salutory tale for the winners, as the family end up buying a house haunted by darts-playing fairies.

Mr Jupp said: "How spooky. Someone could buy the whole of Bognor with that kind of money. They could probably buy a small African nation."

If the rumours are true, it will be the latest in a string of coincidences connected to the book.

Three months after publication Mr Jupp learned that the US military had called their new stealth jet Aurora - the same name as an aircraft of similar design described in his book.

JK Rowling used the name of a character in his book in her Harry Potter novels.

The novel also describes a Roman settlement being discovered under the house in the book - based on his own home in Bognor - and a few years later Roman remains were found nearby.