Nottingham Nets Postcode Millions

New dad Dave Lowe told how he won a whopping £404,048 on People’s Postcode Lottery - because of his newborn baby daughter.

Dave revealed he planned to cancel his ticket then forgot when life became hectic with their tot Olivia.

Now he and wife Kim of Arnold, Nottinghamshire, are celebrating after landing the bumper windfall.

Dave quipped: "Can you get a baby seat in an Aston Martin? My heart rate has just gone up a bit.

"It was my idea to join Postcode Lottery, but I was actually going to cancel my subscription a couple of months ago until I got distracted by our first baby. I think she needed her nappy changing at the time and it just totally went out of my head. Thank goodness, because here we are a couple of months later and £400,000 richer."

Medical secretary Kim - who revealed Olivia was the first 2025 baby born in Nottingham when she arrived at 12.35am on January 1 - said: "We'll thank her when she’s older."

Dave added: "I'm still not happy about the lack of sleep, but we forgive her."

The joiner was among 10 winners to collect the top prizes after NG5 7EY was announced as the full winning postcode of the Postcode Millions prize on Saturday 3 May in Arnold. Every ticket was worth £404,048. 

A further 732 players in the wider postcode sector of NG5 7 won prizes ranging from £9,961 to £49,805, depending on the number of tickets they played with. 

Now Kim said the cash will help with their planned move to a bigger house, a holiday - and maybe a footie treat for Nottingham Forest fan Dave.

Kim said: "This will make a huge difference to us, especially with just having had a baby. We're already looking to move house, and we’d like a holiday.

"We're going to put the house on the market anyway. We had a valuer and a photographer round before you guys came."

David added: "This will set us up for life. I might get an executive box at Forest!"

Turning to Kim, he said: "I'd try and go as much as possible to the hospitality suite - if you'll let me. Hopefully, if they get into Europe I can go abroad this year."

Further along the street, four neighbours in a row all whooped with joy as they each bagged £404,048.

Anne-Marie Maund and hubby-to-be Mark Bonnar went into meltdown when her winnings were revealed - as their lucky pet rabbit Ronnie ran round the garden.

Now the pair are planning to pimp up their August wedding - and extend their semi, so Anne-Marie can get a dining table.

Teaching assistant Ann-Marie said: "The adrenalin is going. I've been playing for nearly three years after my stepson started playing it. I reckoned I had to be a part of it to win it. I'm over-the-moon, I couldn’t be any happier.

"All I wanted was enough to get a dining room table. I didn't even dream. I would have been happy with £1,000; even with just the golden envelope!"

Mark said: "Wow! Wow! Wow! Oh my God, that is amazing. I'm delighted, over-the-moon. It is definitely life-changing. I can't grasp it. It's a dream come true.

"We're getting married in August. The wedding is already planned, but we could upgrade it with a few tweaks."

Anne-Marie added: "I want an extension. I've always wanted to sit inside round a table. We've got a big family and in the summer it's great because we can sit outside on the patio. The extension would be for the dining table."

Mark chipped in: "We might just go for the whole lot - a side wraparound."

The Nottingham Forest fan couple - who share four sons and a daughter - are due to tie the knot on August 25 after more than 15 years together before jetting to Tenerife on honeymoon the next day.

Mark laughed: "We can have two honeymoons with this."

And the utilities worker told of his delight at winning with his close neighbours.

He said: "We get on with all the neighbours, so this is really great - amazing. There will be a party tonight. It's a tight-knit community and we all get on."

Anne-Marie added: "For them to have it and not just us is brilliant. We can all share the same experience."

Through the wall, gobsmacked Linda Davis pocketed the fortune just three months after signing up when her husband Trevor urged her to join.

Now the recently retired carer has big plans to share it with her three daughters and six grandchildren.

She said: "My husband said to me, 'let's have a go on the Postcode Lottery and see what happens there'. I’m really glad I did now because I was humming and hawing at the time. But he said, 'let's have a go'. Three months later this is what we've got.

"It is just so overwhelming. I didn't expect that much, to be honest. I've got to get my head round it.

"My three daughters and six grandchildren will get a good treat. I always want to look after our family. They're our priority, and we'll make sure they’re okay."

She added: "We'll maybe have a big celebration next year for our Golden Wedding anniversary."

Retired Trevor said: "She was thinking she'd just get £3,000."

Linda, who suffers from emphysema and has had a series of mini strokes, only left her job as a community carer in March and is now considering buying a caravan on the coast as a family holiday base.

Visibly shaking, she said: "I told a friend that I cared for that I was winning, and she said I'd given so much caring for other people, it was about time I got something back. She said she hoped I got the big one.

"I might buy a mobile home and make it a family thing."

Trevor said it was special to win with neighbours. He said: "We've always had good neighbours all the time we've been here. We've always had street celebrations like on VE Day, the Queen's Jubilee, King’s Coronation and all through Covid. We'll be having another celebration tonight with neighbours and family."

Across the driveway, Chris Peet stayed cool despite the magnitude of his win.

Chris said: "That's nice. That’s really nice. Wasn't expecting that. I'm happy with that. That's decent that."

The telecommunications engineer planned to toast his win with friends on the street before looking ahead to holiday plans with his partner of 23 years.

He said: "I think I'm probably going out to celebrate tonight. A few drinks with the neighbours, obviously. See where it goes from there."

He added: "I'm already booked to go to Turkey. I might extend it for a bit longer now."

Further along the street, great grandmother June Foster got an early birthday present of £404,048.

Now she wants to buy a new rake for her garden, a washing-up bowl, maybe a rescue dog - and help her family.

Fighting back tears, the sprightly mum-of-five said: "I feel that I'm in a dream that I'm going to wake up from. It's like a fairy tale. It is all so exciting."

Then she turned to daughter Jayne Bent and said: "Oh Jayne! What do I need all that money for? A thousand would be a lot of money to me and would mean a lot to me. This amount is beyond everything.

"This is for my children. What do I need with all that money now at my age?"

She added: "The only thing we thought about buying was a rescue dog for company."

Daughter Jayne said: "She said she would get a nice garden rake. Mum loves gardening and has a beautiful back garden. She also wants a new washing up bowl."

She added: "She has been an amazing mum, grandmother and great grandmother. She so deserves this. She's had such a hard life and has been very poorly, but she came through it."

And the sweet, grand dame of the street congratulated all the other winners.

June said: "I'm so pleased for everybody else who has won, and it is amazing to hear how much money is going to charity. It's wonderful to hear that you are actually helping somebody else."

A few doors along Garry Fearon thought he’d faint after pulling out his bumper cheque.

The retired truck driver said: "I thought I was going to pass out, let's put it that way, and the missus. Absolutely stunned out me life. Stunned! I only thought I was getting £1,000."

The dad-of-one even made plans with his family based on that amount. He said: "We're all going for a meal tomorrow. I've booked a family meal tomorrow because I thought we was only getting £1,000, so they’re going to have a nice big surprise tomorrow. Champagne's coming out!"

Now the bigger prize means Garry wants to further treat his family.

He said: "My son's going to get a share of this and my wife's son and daughter."

On his own celebrations, Garry plans to travel around Britain with wife Lesley.

He said: "I'm going to take my mobile home out and we’re going to disappear. We'll just point it in the direction and drive.

"It's like the Rolls Royce of mobile homes as far as I'm concerned. Separate shower. Double bed. Everything in it!"

Along the road, Marie Castles is also planning to travel. The grandmother-of-three declared: "We're all going on holiday! That's the first thing."

Supported by her two daughters Emma and Georgia who lives at home, she said: "I want to take the children to Disney World in Florida."

She added: "I want to buy a caravan at the seaside, somewhere we can always go with the kids and maybe a holiday home abroad now - that would be on my bucket list. To have somewhere to go all the time for holidays, instead of keep forking it out so I've got a place to go to."

The medical centre receptionist feels her beloved mum, who passed away two years ago, had a hand in her win.

She said: "I’m so happy and I feel like my dreams have come true and I’ve prayed, and the prayers have come true. I think my mum was listening when I asked her."

It was a double celebration for married couple Helen and Gavan Mawer.

Former finance manager Helen bagged herself £29,883 with three tickets, while husband Gavan also picked up £9,961 with his ticket.

Helen said: "Never ever did we think we would win that. It’s life changing."

But there’s a special charity close to the mum-of-two’s heart that Postcode Lottery players fund, which makes her proud to play.

Helen said: "My mum's had cancer four times... and today's when I lost my dad to cancer, eight years ago.

"To hear that I've raised money for Maggie’s, which is where I've been to, and my mum. To know that there are all those connections."

Helen will be delighted to know that local good causes close to the winners have benefitted from money raised by players.

Charities in Nottinghamshire postcodes received £823,850 in People's Postcode Lottery funding awards in 2024. They include:

• Home-Start Nottingham - £70,000
• Citizens Advice Central Nottinghamshire - £60,000
• The Helpful Bureau - £50,000
• Broxtowe Women's Project - £50,000

Thousands Of Deserving Projects

This month’s Postcode Millions draw was held on behalf of Postcode Children Trust which supports organisations including Magic Breakfast, NSPCC and Girlguiding.

A minimum of 30% of each ticket price goes to charities and good causes. To date, players have raised more than £1.5 Billion for thousands of deserving projects worldwide. Our players are changing lives every day, helping people and the planet.

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