A lucky North East street is celebrating after landing a £1m prize jackpot on the Postcode lottery, as a newlywed couple have pocketed a £333,000 prize fund.
Residents on the street in Gateshead were shocked to learn the news of its new found fortune after landing the eye-watering sum.
Those who won the prize included Deborah Norris and her partner Paul Gilroy.
In 2016, Deborah had told Paul to cancel his ticket after bagging more than £3,000 on the lottery’s Postcode Millions prize just two months after signing up at a previous address.
But NHS worker Paul, 53, of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, ignored his then wife-to-be – going on to win TWICE more, and they even started playing with two tickets each.
Now the couple are celebrating after pocketing a cool £333,332 on Postcode Lottery’s Millionaire Street draw.
The bumper payout comes just weeks after finding out they had each landed £2,000 on the lottery’s Daily Prize in June while sunbathing in Gran Canaria on their honeymoon.
Deborah, 57, said: “When we won the first time within a month or two of joining, I thought that would be it and we should just cancel but Paul refused and here we are.
“We could have said enough’s enough after that first win eight years ago. Then we won £2,000 each in June. Even with those wins it’s been worthwhile. But we never, ever dreamed we’d end up with as much as this.”
Paul added: “You can’t win if you don’t play, and our life has just changed.”
The couple, who both work for the NHS, shared £1million with eight neighbours in Gateshead after NE9 6PZ landed Postcode Lottery’s weekly Millionaire Street prize, announced on Saturday, August 17.
Every ticket was worth £83,333, but Deborah and Paul doubled their winnings with two tickets each.
Their win comes just two months after all the players bagged £1,000 for each ticket they played with when the same postcode was drawn in the Daily Prize.
At first, Deborah and Paul – who share four children and five grandchildren – were each presented with a cheque for £83,333. Minutes later, they were left overwhelmed when the lottery team surprised them with a second cheque each, because they both had two tickets.
Now they aim to ramp up plans to look for a bigger home to accommodate their growing family.
Paul said: “You’re having a laugh. I thought the first cheque was the two amounts together. I need a chair! Thank you very, very, very, very much. It is absolutely fantastic.”
Deborah said: “I was very happy with the first two cheques and just assumed that was our two tickets combined. Then a little visitor surprised us and gave us another two cheques. That’s when I started to get speechless.
“We had been hoping to move house anyway. We’ve got a two-bedroom home and five grandchildren. We need another room, and this will go to that.
“I’m not often lost for words. It means so much for us, we can help the four children and five grandchildren. That’s what gives us happiness, if we can do things for the family.
Paul laughed: “There are five grandchildren at the moment, but they’re still working on it so it’s only going to get worse.”
But Deborah said they might now have to boil their home hunt down to a street where there’s a No12 for sale.
She explained: “We married on June 12, had an evening wedding party on July 12 and found out we’d won the lottery on August 12.
“When we go for a new house, we’ll have to try for a No12.”
Now the couple are dreaming of more holidays with the cash - and might also treat themselves to a new motor.
They are due to jet back to Puerto Rico, on Gran Canaria, next week – the third time they’ve visited their favourite holiday spot this year. Then they’re off to Disneyland Paris with the whole family in November.
Paul said: “We’re happy to go on holidays to Gran Canaria. Puerto Rico is our favourite place. We’re quite easy-going and like what we like.”
Deborah said: “Puerto Rico is our home from home. We can just relax there. We were on a sun-lounger in Puerto Rico on our honeymoon when we realised we had won £2,000 each in June.”
Paul said of a new car: “It’s a toss-up between getting the exhaust sorted or getting a new one. I’d quite like a Kia Sportage hybrid.”
Along the road, Dave Bruford couldn’t believe he was another triple winner – after he also scooped a win in the same previous Millions sector draw as Paul and a £1,000 Daily Prize too.
Dave, 67, joked: “This is the third time. Looking forward to seeing you the fourth time coming to the door.”
The retired painter and decorator won £8,149 when his then postcode sector, NE8 4, was announced as part of a Million prize in 2016. Along with some smaller wins along the way, Dave and partner Mary Spence also won the £1,000 Daily Prize in June.
Dave and Mary, 62 – who each picked up cheques for £83,333 - now plan to use some of their winnings on travel and already have a Canary Islands break lined up in a few weeks’ time. The couple had organised the trip on the day they initially heard from the Postcode Lottery team to ask if they’d be available for a visit.
Part-time Morrisons pizza maker Mary said: “We had already booked (a holiday) the day we got the telephone call.”
David added Fuerteventura is a favourite destination of theirs and for their upcoming stay said: “We’re going to try Corralejo.”
Mary added: “All we need now is spending money.”
They’re also thinking ahead to future trips abroad. Mary said: “We always go away in January for my birthday.”
And daughter Laura Neasham, 39, is encouraging her mum to treat herself to the holiday of her dreams.
She said: “She’s wanted to go to Mexico for years. They love their holidays, so there will be a few extra ones.”
The couple have been together for 44 years, reuniting after some time apart. Laura said: “There was a bit of a break in between.”
The couple haven’t looked back since and following his retirement, Dave’s looking forward to the years to come after successful knee surgery. He said: “I had that one done in February and that one’s getting done this year.”
Young couple Jessica Carson and Cameron Oliver had woken at 5am with excitement after being told they’d won for the second time in two months.
Jewellery designer Jessica, 30, had also pocketed a £1,000 Daily Prize in June - just six months after signing up. Now she and partner Cameron, 31, are planning to tick off their holiday bucket list.
Jessica, struggling to contain her emotions, said: “We’ve been up since 5am. We couldn’t sleep. I just kept thinking, ‘it can’t be’. I’m over the moon and just so grateful.
“I can’t believe it. I’m sorry, I can’t stop shaking. It’s my birthday on the 29th…what a month! I’ve got to go out after this. It’s my friend’s birthday and we’re going for a bottomless brunch in Newcastle.”
Civil servant Cameron added: “This doesn’t feel real. I couldn’t sleep, it was like Christmas morning. It’s life changing. We like to spend money on holidays…tick off all the bucket list that we can.”
The couple are considering a trip to Australia to see The Ashes at the end of next year after cancelling a previous holiday during the pandemic. And this time, they could tag a tour of Japan onto it.
They have already booked a getaway to Italy’s Lake Garda planned next month, a couple’s weekend in Benidorm - and a visit to New York early next year.
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Jessica said: “We’re going to New York in January and had already put the £1,000 we won straight into savings for spending money. Business class might be a good option now.
“My mum took me to New York for my 30th last year and I wanted Cameron to experience it.
“We don’t have a family, so we like to spend our money. We work hard for it. That’s our enjoyment – holidays. Do the bucket list when you can. Tick them off as you go.”
Former professional cricketer Cameron said: “We’re going to Australia next year and would like to go to Japan. We might link it together and make it one big, massive holiday.”
But they also want to carry out improvements on the front and back gardens of their two-bed terraced home.
Cameron added: “We want to get the decking painted or redone in the front garden and replace the grass in the back garden with astroturf so that it’s low maintenance.”
Stunned neighbour Fiona Hillary screamed ‘oh my God’ when she was presented with her cheque. She is now dreaming of “a nice holiday” and a shopping spree at the nearby Metrocentre complex for “a whole new wardrobe.”
But the Primark worker revealed she and hubby Mark, both 54, couldn’t sleep the night before her win – and might have a different reason to lose some shut-eye now.
Fiona said: “I’m happy, I’m shocked. Ecstatic. Mark’s been like a cat on a hot tin roof. Now I’m not going to sleep because I’ll not know what to spend the money on.”
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