Hundreds of Rhymney residents have had a taste of living in a ‘rich man’s world’ after scooping a share of £3.7 million with People’s Postcode Lottery.
NP22 5 was revealed as the winning postcode sector in the lottery’s Postcode Millions draw on Saturday 28 May. There was a total of 435 winners in the area.
Nine neighbours from Pen-Y-Dre shared the largest portion of the prize after their postcode, NP22 5DL, was named as the full winning postcode.
Edward ‘Ted’ Owen, 76, who plays with two tickets scooped a massive £370,000 – the other eight winners each play with one ticket and walked away with an incredible £185,000 each.
Ted, a retired steel worker, was joined by his son Gareth to accept his lifechanging cheque today and said he was absolutely shocked with his win. Ted said: “You never expect to win this amount of money. I am absolutely elated.”
Ted plans to go on a world cruise and has always wanted a Jaguar so a new 4×4 car is also at the top of his list.
Ted’s other son Jonathan and daughter Catherine were jetting off to Cyprus today for a wedding, so he was excited to phone them and share the news.
Ted said: “I don’t think they’ll believe me when I tell them how much I’ve won.
“I’ll definitely keep playing People’s Postcode Lottery. You never know I might win again!”
Next to get a knock on their door was Lisa Scanlon, 43, who had a house full of excited family members waiting to hear how much she had won.
Lisa was joined by her boyfriend Stephen, her mum Cherry, sister Emma and 5-year-old niece Maddie when she was presented with her cheque for £185,000 by Postcode Lottery ambassador, Matt Johnson, who grew up nearby.
Lisa has not only had a dream win but also has a dream job as she works at a chocolate factory as a quality control officer meaning she gets to eat chocolate every hour on the hour and gets paid for it.
Lisa said: “I really don’t know what I’m going to do with my winnings. I’m always teased in my family about how sensible I am with my money, so I’ll need to think of something exciting to spend it on, maybe a trip to the Maldives!”
Lisa’s mum Cherry lives right across the street from her but doesn’t play People’s Postcode Lottery, Lisa said: “My mum doesn’t play but I bet she will now.”
Lewis Lance, 68, and his partner Rose were delighted to welcome Matt to find out they had won £185,000.
Lewis, who has lived in his house for more than 34 years said he hopes to buy a bungalow with his winnings.
Lewis said: “I’m on cloud nine! We’ve been thinking for the last couple of years about buying a bungalow and now I definitely think we’ll take the plunge and go for it.”
Rose couldn’t enjoy the celebrations for too long as she works for the NHS and was heading off for a shift straight after the cheque presentation.
Rose said: “The last couple of years have been really tough and I’ve been working seven days a week, so this money has really come at a great time.
“We’re going to have a big party to celebrate, and we’ll spoil our children and grandchildren. This will help our whole family.”
Gladys Kent, 72, will be making a very important purchase now that she’s won an incredible £185,000.
“I can get some new slippers now,” said Gladys.
Gladys, a retired home help, also plans to get a new car with ramp access for her mobility scooter, a new three-piece suite and take the whole family away on a trip to Benidorm.
Gladys said: “It’s my husband Gary’s 75th birthday tomorrow so we’ll have a big party with our three children and eight grandchildren, now we have even more reason to celebrate!”
Other winners included: David Price, 65, Mary Brooks, 62, and Raymond Jenkins, 73.
Along with the biggest winners, a further 426 players in the postcode sector received cheques ranging from £3,894 to £11,682, depending on how many tickets they play with.
There were two other winners with the full postcode who chose to remain anonymous.
People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Matt Johnson, who presented the winners with their cheques, said: “I absolutely love getting to come home to Wales to present my fellow countrymen and women with some lovely big cheques. It’s great to see so many neighbours winning together in NP22 5. It’s been such a special day meeting our winners and I’m sure there will be a big party in Rhymney this weekend!”
