£19m Lotto winner wishes for health

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Stephen Smith, 58, from Hemel Hempstead, Herts, said he was "over the moon" about the huge windfall but it was overshadowed because he has a serious medical condition which means his life is hanging in the balance.

Mr Smith, a one-time doorman and bingo caller who shares a one-bed council flat with his wife Ida, was the only winner of an £18,992,109 jackpot on Saturday.

But he said he would return the money in a second if it could change the fact that three years ago he was diagnosed with an aortic aneurism which could burst at any time, leaving him with a one in 10 chance of living.

The condition means he has to be within 30 minutes of a hospital at all times in case something goes wrong and he has to be rushed into theatre for emergency surgery.

Mr Smith, speaking today at the Grove Hotel in Watford, said: "If this goes - it can burst at any time - I have a one in 10 chance of living. It's a ticking timebomb inside me.

"It's her (Ida) I worry for, it's leaving her behind. I would give all that back if I am allowed to still be with her because there are no shops in the cemetery, is there?

"I can't spend any of it there, I want to spend it with her. I want to spend my life with her, I want to see my grandchildren spend their pensions. The youngest one is six years old. That's how long I want to live. I want to see them get married and go down the aisle and all that business."

The money will make no difference to his condition because doctors have to wait until the aneurism is a certain size before operating, otherwise the risk is the same as it bursting, Mr Smith explained.

He said: "I can't go private and say 'fix this for me now, it doesn't matter what it costs'. It's not like that. It has to get to a certain size before they can operate on it."