RELEASE those big money balls! There can’t be many of us who haven’t crossed our fingers when we’ve heard those words uttered each and every Wednesday and Saturday night. And of course dreamed about what we’d do with the cash.

It’s now 20 years since the launch of the first National Lottery draw and while it is only the lucky few who have become millionaires as a result, £32bn has been raised to spend on good causes, whether it be charity or alternatively projects involving heritage, sport and the arts.

At one of the end of the scale Anthony Gormley’s iconic Angel of the North, in Gateshead, would not have been completed without lottery money. And in 1996 a whopping £7.4m went to Stockton Arts Centre (now Stockton Arc), still one of the biggest grants the region has received to date.

Then there have been the smallest – but equally important contributions – such as the £200 which in 2004 helped send a Cleveland war veteran to Egypt as part of a commemorative visit. Meanwhile, the North-East’s first ever grant went to Maltby Cricket Club which received £10,662 in 1995 for a new pitch.

A spokeswoman for The National Lottery, which is operated by Camelot, said: “The National Lottery has changed the lives of many people and has created more than 540 millionaires in the North-East and Yorkshire.

“More than £3bn has also been raised to help thousands of projects and charities, transforming communities across the region.”