Nine neighbours from Rhyl have been left stunned after learning they have scooped £360,000 all thanks to their postcode.
The windfall comes after LL18 4JH was announced as a winner with People’s Postcode Lottery on Sunday 19 June. Seven of the winners scooped £30,000 each while an eighth netted £60,000 and the ninth landed £90,000 thanks to playing with two and three tickets respectively.
Jayne Oates (63) was left stunned after she found out she had won £90,000. After the news had sunk in, she said: “I’m over the moon, I really am.”
The mum-of-four said the win would mean she could retire a little early to focus on her family: “It means I can give up a cleaning job. I was made redundant two years ago and I had to do a little job to help out as my husband is retired.
“We look after our grandchildren as well. Now we won’t need to rush out of bed, this is means I can look after them a bit more.”
Jayne added that her first thoughts were about telling her family. She said of one of her children: “I think my daughter is going to be bouncing, she’ll be bouncing off the ceiling!”
With three grandchildren, Jayne said there would be plenty of treats coming their way: “My granddaughter will get a new iPad definitely. She never asks for anything. I always said: ‘If nanny wins the lottery, you’ll get a new iPad.’
“And she would always say: ‘No if you win the lottery nanny, that money is yours.’ So she’ll get a new one.”
When asked what she’d buy for herself, Jayne added: “I’ve always wanted to go to Machu Picchu. And it would be nice to do a family holiday as well.”
“We were thinking about scrimping money together for a holiday, because we need it. We don’t need to worry about scrimping now!”
Another winner was Katrina Day (55) who couldn’t believe her eyes after seeing a prize cheque for £30,000. She said: “It’s fantastic. It means everything to us, it really does. Winning that amount of money, it’s life changing.”
Her partner Richard was alongside her as her winnings were revealed. He said: “You always think it’s never it’s going to happen to you and then it does.”
Katrina, a local countryside ranger, said the couple already have some ideas for their winnings: “We’re definitely going to have a holiday – a cruise. We’ve never done a cruise so we’d really like to try that.”
The couple have three children and six grandchildren and said they’d also love to do a family holiday as well. Richard added: “We’d love to get us all together as we’re never all together at the same time. It’ll be nice.”
When asked if they had any other ideas for the winnings, Richard, who runs his own handyman business, also had one extra purchase in mind. He said: “I would like a new DeWalt chop saw!”
Katrina laughed and added: “He has been going on about that. I might get a new handbag!”
The couple were thrilled to hear that many of their neighbours had scooped prizes as well. Richard said: “It’s a really good community, people are so helpful. Neighbours look out for each other. It’s really, really good.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a street party!”
Retired nurse Jennifer Mitchell (64) and her partner James were almost speechless after learning they had won £30,000. Jennifer said: “It’s overwhelming. I’m stuck for words.
“It’s going to change our lives.”
Along with treats for their family, the couple planned to use their winnings to make an upcoming camping trip extra special. Jennifer said: “We’re going to France in July, we might extend it and go somewhere else.”
James added that some of the winnings may go towards updating their current caravan: “We might upgrade it a bit. Something a little newer. Our one is 29 years old!”
When asked how they would celebrate, Jennifer laughed and said: “A bottle of champagne for tonight! And a nice big, fat steak!”
Devendrarajah Manivannan (59) netted £60,000 thanks to playing with two tickets. He was left shocked by the windfall: “It was a surprise. When I got the cheque it was like a dream.”
Devendrarajah, who works as a carer, was quick to say that he plans to use the winnings for his wife and two children: “It means a lot. I can spend the money on my family. Family comes first always for me, always.”
When asked what he may buy first, he joked that his son would be hoping for PlayStation 5 but he also had another treat for the family in mind: “I’ve been dreaming of a cruise for a long time so I’m going to do that. The whole family will enjoy that.”
Jim McGaugie (73) learned of his £30,000 win alongside his daughter Suzzanne. He said: “It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s very surreal, it’s been a lovely surprise.”
Jim plans to use some of the winnings to treat his children and three grandkids to a holiday: “We’ll probably go for a little holiday somewhere. I don’t know where yet because it’s a bit of a shock at the moment.”
Glasgow-born Jim added he would use some of the winnings to arrange a family trip as well: “I’ll probably go back up to Scotland again to see my other family as well so that will be nice.”
Jim was thrilled to hear that players of lottery like himself had raised over £900 million for charities. He said: “It’s really good to be part of something that other people are going to benefit from, it’s not just about me and the other winners. It’s about helping everyone else, that’s what it’s all about.”
The other winners opted to remain anonymous.
Lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson shared his congratulations with all the winners and said: “What a fantastic surprise to round off your week! I am so pleased for our Rhyl winners and I’m sure they are going to have an amazing time with their winnings.”
Everyday throughout the June draws one postcode will be announced as a £30,000 prize winner. All the players in the postcode will win £30,000 for every ticket they hold.
