We bought our £675k bungalow from couple who won EuroMillions £184m jackpot… but we are fuming over its condition
A COUPLE who won £184million on the lottery sold their bungalow and left it in a “mess”, the new owners said last night.
Joe and Jess Thwaite scooped the eye watering jackpot last year but kept hold of their modest pile in the Gloucestershire countryside.
The house finally sold earlier this year but the new owners claimed that rather than leave a note and a bottle of wine, they left the £675,000 home in a shambles.
Elinor Capostagno, 19, bought the three-bedroom home with her mum after moving from South Africa where they owned a farm.
Student vet Elinor said: “They didn’t leave anything as a present except quite a lot of mess.
“There was a lot to tidy up. It was like they just upped and left. The hedges were a mess.
“We had to completely clean out the stables.
“Despite winning the lottery they didn’t give us a discount on the house, I mean we wish.”
However, she described Joe, 50, as a “sweet” and “lovely guy”.
Elinor said the former communications sales engineer recently visited the home in Staunton, Glos, to fix the gas tank.
She told The Sun: “He came round last month to help us with the heating. The system had run out of gas in the tank and we didn’t know how to fill it so he came over to help with a friend.
“He was very sweet, he’s a lovely guy.
“He was still dressed in farmer’s gear and was driving a Nissan pick-up.
“You wouldn’t think he had won the lottery.”
Horse mad Joe and Jess, a hairdresser, 45, had bought the home so their children could ride in the three acre paddock and fields.
And the pair are apparently keen Point to Point fans.
Elinor, who said her family moved from South Africa because farming was becoming too dangerous from threats of violence and robbery, said: “Joe said he was on his way to the Point to Point.
“He could afford to buy himself a very nice horse now.”
The Sun previously reported how the Thwaites neighbour Faith Cox, 76, was hoping the newly-made millionaires would fix a hole in their boundary fence before they moved.
But Faith yesterday claimed they had left before they had a chance to repair it.
The retired widow said: “Their dog got through the hole once and they talked about repairing it but then they won the lottery and they moved out.
“I don’t blame them. They’re lovely, I haven’t got a bad word to say about them, good luck to them. They were only here for four months.”
There are rumours in the picturesque village that the mega-rich pair have bought a petting farm near Cheltenham, Glos, which they plan to develop.
It would follow the same model as Countryfile presenter Gavin Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park, a source said.
They added: “We’ve been told they bought a farm with lots of room to stable their horses but also keep a whole range of animals.
“Apparently the plan is to open up a petting farm for members of the public to visit, like Gavin Henson’s place.”
The family kept three ponies, sheep, chicken and two dogs at their bungalow which they would have needed to find room for.
The Sun previously revealed how the Thwaites celebrated their jackpot with £16.95 steak and chips — and left a lucky tip.
They could have bought 10,870,000 plates of rump with their record-breaking sum.
But instead of a glitzy champagne bash the couple dined with their two kids, pals and extended family at a Miller and Carter chain restaurant on a Gloucester trading estate.
Joe and Jess have kept a very low profile since their staggering £184,262,889 win on the Euromillions last May.
Jess was helping her sister Becky Robinson run Blow hairdressers in Tewkesbury High Street when she won.
But the multi-million pound windfall has not changed Becky’s life.
She was seen greeting clients behind the desk at the salon this week.
Joe and Jess had only just moved into their 19th Century Grade II listed Chartist-built home when they won.
And we revealed their first purchase was a £38,000 understated used Volvo estate.
They were previously rumoured to have their eye on a seven-bedroom home with tennis courts, swimming pool and a stable block near to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds.
But that house has now been sold to other owners.
The Thwaites have not spoken publicly since winning the jackpot.
Camelot was approached for comment.