A STUNNED woman has scooped £398,492 on People’s Postcode Lottery just three months after moving to a new flat in a 22-storey tower block – and over 160 of her neighbours have also won prizes.
Amrutha Chingoroth, 27, had just moved into the city centre high-rise apartment in June when a leaflet arrived through the letterbox which tempted her to sign up for the lottery.
Now just weeks later she’s bagged a huge slice of a £1m prize – and is planning her first-ever business class flight back to India.
Amrutha, of Cardiff, Wales, said: “I’m literally speechless about what has just happened. When I saw the cheque, I just went numb.
“When our flat intercom rang, I wasn’t expecting much. But I was just thinking whatever happens, we are happy. But never in our thoughts did we imagine this much money.”
Amrutha and another neighbour won the lion’s share of the lottery’s weekly £1m Millionaire Street prize when CF10 4EF was announced as the winner on Saturday 20 September. Each winning ticket was worth £398,492.
The remainder of the pot was shared by 166 locals in CF10 4 postcodes. Players won between £1,074 to £3,222 depending on how many tickets they play with.
And it’s back-to-back £1m wins for Welsh postcodes, after four people in a rural Carmarthenshire hamlet each won £250,000 on Saturday 13 September.
Amrutha was stunned when lottery staff arrived in the courtyard outside her apartment building to present her prize in front of lots of watching neighbours.
Amrutha, who moved from London to Cardiff in June, told of her delight that she signed up – and says she’ll now have her first taste of a luxury plane seat.
She said: “I thought, it’s just £12.25 a month, and it’s for charity too – let’s go for it. But I didn’t expect to ever win.”
“I’m flying home next month, and I was booked in economy – now I’ll upgrade to business class for the first time ever.
“It’s seven hours to Dubai and then another four on to Kerala, so it’ll be amazing to experience it.”
She added: “We moved here from London only three months ago. I really like this area – it’s peaceful, close to the city centre, and everything is accessible. I think this is a lucky place for us now.”
Amrutha, an associate Price Reporter for S&P Global, is used to combing through numbers at work, so when Postcode Lottery called to say she’d won, she instantly went into detective-mode.
Amrutha said: “To be honest, I didn’t believe if it was real or not. I even replied to Postcode Lottery saying, ‘I don’t see anything on the website, is it really happening?’
“We searched on Instagram and even Reddit to check how others had experienced it. Then I thought, okay, it’s genuine – and today Postcode Lottery turned up.”
Amrutha moved to the UK in 2023 with her husband, who watched the win unfold in disbelief.
The couple also hope to return to the Greek isle of Santorini, where they celebrated their anniversary:
“It was the most romantic holiday we’ve had. Maybe we’ll recreate those memories.”
Amrutha said one of the first things she will do is call her family back in India.
Holding back tears, she said: “My mum will be so happy.
Her husband added: “I just texted my brother and he’s freaking out. He asked me, ‘How much tax do you pay on it?’ and I said, ‘Zero.’ He couldn’t believe it.”
The neighbours’ win also means local charities have benefitted from thousands of pounds of support thanks to Postcode Lottery players.
