Lottery pair choose to stay silent over £2,500,000 weekend win

TWO people who scooped nearly £2.5 million on the Lottery decided not to go public with their win yesterday after opting to remain anonymous at the last minute. The Scots, both members of the same Edinburgh family, matched all six numbers in Saturday's draw to net £2,497,823 on one shared ticket.

They were expected to talk about their plans for the future at a press conference in the city yesterday but it was cancelled. A spokesman for Lottery operator Camelot said: "The winners have changed their minds and opted not to take publicity."

The winning numbers were 4, 20, 21, 35, 39 and 40 and the bonus number was 28.

The unidentified duo are sharing the 4.9 million jackpot with one other winner, who also gets more than 2.4 million.

On Friday, 60-year-old Robert Neil and his wife Isobel, 57, told how they won 130,450 after selecting five numbers and the bonus ball in the 4 September draw. The couple, from Galston in Ayrshire, bought their winning ticket from the Co-op in Cross Street in the town. The ex-footballer and his wife have run an ironmongers in the town for the past 27 years.