Twenty-seven year-old Ryan Magee found out on Saturday morning that he had won just under ?6.5 million pounds in Friday night's record breaking ?96 million rollover draw. Ryan, who lives in the Altnagelvin area and is originally from Bond Street, was one of 16 winners across Europe who each won ?6,462,181.30.

The Waterside man - who purchased 11 tickets in total - bought the winning ticket from the Centra store in Ballymagorry. He had previously bought 'lucky dips' in Omagh, Derry, Strabane and Coleraine.

Ryan and his partner Margaret Black, who already have a ten-year-old son and are expecting another child in August, were officially unveiled as lottery winners at the Broomhill hotel yesterday. And the IT worker, who owns his own firm, has already made his first purchase - a Ferrari F430 Spider.

"I went into Charles Hurst in Belfast", he said. "They took me into another room where they kept their Ferraris and I was taken out for a drive in it. When we were driving back, I already knew I wanted it but I thought I'd better ask how much it cost. The salesman told me it was ?157,000 and I said, OK then. It was totally totally mad. I am picking it up on Friday."

Ryan says it took a while to convince Margaret to let him buy the Italian super car, which has a top speed of 180 miles-an-hour. "Margaret allowed me to buy it but she's going to be looking after the money from now on!"

The Derry man says he was so convinced he was going to be a winner in Friday night's draw that he had already begun looking at cars online.

"You hear people saying they have a feeling before they win it and you don't believe them but every time I saw a EuroMillions advert I had a feeling that it was going to me. I work all around Northern Ireland so I bought 11 tickets in different locations. Margaret went mad because I had bought so many tickets. She's OK now though!

Ryan says nothing could have prepared him for the realisation that he had won the lottery.

"When I first realised, I felt panic and joy at the same time. I couldn't find my phone anywhere and didn't know what to do so I jumped in my car and drove to Margaret's work."

Margaret, who works as a nurse at Gransha Hospital, said she didn't believe Ryan at first. "I thought he was having me on, then I got my friends to look at it and they confirmed we had won."

And the couple say they won't change now they are multi-millionaires.
"It hasn't sunk in but I don't think it will change us that much", says Margaret. "Maybe a house in the country and a few holidays. With a baby on the way, it will make things a lot easier!"

Carry on working

Ryan says he plans to carry on working. "I hope to expand my company across Northern Ireland but I have no plans to leave, I love it here."
Ryan's parents, Betty and Lloyd, say the lottery win "couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow". "When he came to our house, he told us to sit down", says Lloyd. "We thought he was going to tell us Margaret was having triplets. It hasn't sunk in yet - but it couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow. He is very family orientated."