Rochdale man wins £58m EuroMillions jackpot

A local joiner is celebrating after winning the jackpot in the EuroMillions draw on Friday 17 April 2020. The 38 year old is now an amazing £58,366,487 better off and finds himself in 20th place on The National Lottery millionaire Rich List.

Ryan Hoyle, 38, discovered the win while checking his emails at 6am on Saturday morning (18 April). The self-employed joiner, who normally buys his tickets in store but who has been playing online recently during the lockdown, spotted an email from The National Lottery with the title, ‘You’ve Won’. It looked at first as if he had won £2.30 but, as he scanned his account he saw that his second line had also matched some numbers and this time the winning amount was eight digits long!

Ryan said: “I always wake up early and was sat on the edge of my bed but couldn’t work out what I was looking at. The email linked to my account which looked like a lot of numbers and I thought it might be millions but I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. I couldn’t make sense of it and really needed to talk to someone so I called my mum and dad. It was 6am so they assumed that I had locked myself out of the flat somehow as it has happened before!

“I was shaking and really needed a second opinion so I jumped in the van and drove round to my mum and dad’s house. I showed them the phone through the window for them to double-check for me. They even checked my numbers against another website, just to be sure. It was real – I had won £58m!”

Ryan said his parents were shocked but kept calm considering the huge sum they were all looking at. Ryan said, “Dad congratulated me from inside their house whilst mum shouted out if she could retire now? I replied yes!”

News of Ryan’s good fortune quickly spread in the area during Saturday and by dinner time Ryan’s family and many friends were all aware of his amazing good fortune. Ryan said, “I think everyone I have ever known must have heard the news – I’ve had so many messages and texts from people I haven’t heard from in years. All of them wishing me well.”

 

 

Ryan managed to celebrate at a distance with his brothers, who live close by and where he has been recently working in his spare time. He explained: “We sat apart drinking beer on Saturday afternoon in the sunshine and tried to let the news sink in. I just couldn’t be alone but we kept more than two metres apart. I needed to talk to them and ask their advice. It was a nice afternoon and it really helped with the shock.”

As a self-employed joiner of 15 years, Ryan’s been working on various jobs including his brother’s house in his spare time, helping him with a refurbishment, and he doesn’t plan to leave him in the lurch despite his big windfall. “I’m nearly done so will see the job through. After that, who knows?”

Ryan currently drives a two year old white works van so would like to treat himself to a proper car so he can drive himself and his 11-year-old daughter around. However he has no idea what make or model. He said: “I haven’t driven a car in over five years and have no idea what the options are. I doubt it will be a sports car or anything too flash as that’s not me.”

“Right now I’m not focused on spending it on myself. I’m going to see the family right as well as my closest friends. Mum works at the local school as a cleaner and has been struggling with a sore hip for years, so it would be great to see her take early retirement straight away. She was down for a hip replacement but all operations are on hold at the moment due to the Coronavirus crisis, so maybe I can help with that too. And this win means my Dad can stop working at the factory by the end of the week too.”

“It’s also been a tough time for one of my brothers who recently suffered a brain haemorrhage. He is a digger driver and was due back at work soon, so I can help him now and it means he’s not forced to go back to work. Basically mum, dad and my brother can all retire this week.”

Ryan, who rents a one bed flat, will be looking to purchase his own home as soon as the lockdown is lifted and he can see what is available. Longer term, building his own home could be on the wishlist, but down-to-earth Ryan is not looking to build anything flash, saying: “You don’t need a swimming pool round here, it’s not hot enough.”

Ryan likes to take his daughter to Spain each year but he has nothing booked or planned at the moment due to the Covid-19 outbreak. However, when travel restrictions have been lifted he’d love to take her to see some of the waterparks in Florida and perhaps Disney too. Apart from that, his daughter has shown an interest in an iPhone 11 but Ryan says that is still to be negotiated!

As a keen albeit new golfer, Ryan is looking forward to playing and following his favourite sports as soon as it is safe to do so. In addition to following boxing, Formula One and darts, Ryan is keen to invest in a season ticket for his beloved Manchester United next year.

The news of the win and the incredible amount is still slowly sinking in for Ryan. He said, “It has been a long weekend and I’m struggling to sleep. I can’t stop pacing either, I can’t stay still just trying to make sense of it all. I couldn’t keep it quiet that’s for sure and look how far the news has spread already? I guess it’s true that good news does travel fast!”

Close friend, Jan Louie Wormald, 38, who has known Ryan since they were four years old, was one of those who heard the news quickly. He said: “I'm absolutely over the moon for Ryan, it genuinely couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I've known him for 30 years and he has never changed in all that time. He’s just a genuine, laid back, hardworking lad who loves his daughter. I'm so pleased for him and his family.”

Ryan bought his winning EuroMillions ticket online and the winning EuroMillions numbers from the draw on Friday 17 April 2020 were 16, 28, 32, 37, 45 and the Lucky Stars numbers were 1 and 11.

Thanks to National Lottery players, up to £300m will be used to support the most vulnerable in communities across the UK during the Coronavirus crisis. By playing The National Lottery, £30m is raised every week on average by National Lottery players for projects big and small across the country. Hundreds of millions of pounds will be distributed to charities and local voluntary organisations over the next few months to help support people through the Covid-19 crisis - from helping support food banks, to causes that combat loneliness and isolation, support for the elderly and projects that support health in the community.