A husband and wife who scooped £2.7m on the National Lottery have fulfilled their lifelong dream of visiting every racecourse in the UK.

Derek and Elaine Thompson have now made it to all 59 tracks after splashing out on a succession of three horses and travelling the country to see them compete.

The married couple of 45 years were one of the first winners of the Lotto jackpot in 1995, when the game was barely 12 months old, and turned their passion into a full-time hobby by aiming to attend every major horse racing meet.

And they finally passed the finishing post 29 years later when they visited Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire earlier this week.

Mr Thompson, 65, said: “We have always loved horse racing, it’s such a great atmosphere and over the years I have learned which trainers to follow.

“We decided after our National Lottery win to travel the UK and visit every racecourse in the country. Originally there were 61 but two have closed down over the years.

“Ludlow is our 59th and we have definitely saved a lovely course for our last one!”

Mrs Thompson, 68, added: “Finishing our tour of the 59 racecourses at Ludlow is really special. It is such a fabulous racecourse – small and intimate which is what we love.

"We really feel a part of the action – I don’t think we have ever visited such a friendly racecourse. We will definitely be back.”

Mrs Thompson was working as a payroll clerk and Mr Thompson was an accountant when the pair, both from Newcastle, scooped the eye-watering cash prize just under 30 years ago.

They then set up their kids for life and enjoyed holidays around the world, while meeting celebrities including Tony Blair and The Spice Girls.

And remarkably, grandmother Mrs Thompson later returned to work nightshifts at M&S stacking shelves because she did not like the idea of being idle.

But they always wanted to put some of their winnings towards their love of horse racing and this led them to invest in a succession of thoroughbreds.

Sadly, luck was never really on their side, with one of the horses nick-named Sick Note as it seemed to develop a cough before each race meeting and never won.

Their third racehorse, Richmond Lady, did go on to win a race at Exeter, but as it was such a foggy day, Elaine and Derek were unable to witness it crossing the finishing line.

Eventually they decided to give up on putting their cash into the less-than-successful investments, and instead just focus on visiting every race track.

The couple’s day at Ludlow was made even more special as they sponsored the longest race of the day.