LUCKY couple Peter and Kathleen Cunliffe enjoyed a champagne end to a weekend in London when they scooped more than £186,000 on the National Lottery.

Peter and Kathleen, from Lower Darwen, were in a hotel on a mini-break and packing up their clothes last Sunday morning when they remembered to check their lines.

Kathleen called the winning numbers on her mobile phone, and Peter got as far as the fourth line down when he matched 15, 22, 43, 46, 48, and the bonus ball, 21, for a £186,878 lottery win.

Mayhem followed as they tried to comprehend their luck, eat a celebratory champagne breakfast and get to the station on time for their booked train back home.

And Peter, 50, speaking at the couple's business, Babywise Mattress Factory, Wood Street, Darwen, said that such has been the commotion since returning home they still haven't got around to checking those other numbers.

"We haven't even had time to unpack our suitcases yet," said Peter, "I've still got 17 lines to check. This has certainly been a week to remember." He thought Kathleen, 50, was playing a trick on him when the numbers on the phone matched with the ones on the ticket. "When you see the numbers you think you have written them down wrong," he said, "but because they had come from the phone we couldn't find anywhere to check if they were right.

"When you realise you have won you don't think about how much you are going to get, but it was nice when it was almost £200,000.

"All the way home on the train we kept checking the ticket again, we were really restless."

The couple do not have any immediate plans to treat themselves, although they have been inundated with requests from their children, Heather, 17, Alexander, six, and Aaron, six for various treats.

Their other son, Nicholas, 30, works in America -- he is flying home this week with a request for a nice car.

Peter said that their family is too big to treat people individually, so they had an idea to benefit everyone.

"We think we'll buy a flat in Spain for the whole of the family to use," he said.

"We've been lucky enough to afford trips before, we've had new cars, so we'll not be running out to get lots of different things."

The couple do plan to buy a house but they will still stay in Darwen because they like to have their family around them.

They plan to keep working to build up their business and use the money to relax a little bit more.