Peterborough Millionaire Street

A dance teacher has waltzed off with £235,292 despite missing a string of calls to let her know she'd won.

Anita quickstepped home from her dance school after husband Vince phoned to say our People's Postcode Lottery team was at the door.

The couple, who have been wed for 40 years, had missed messages telling them their postcode - PE7 2AS - had landed today's £1 Million Millionaire Street prize.

And after her windfall was revealed, Anita beamed, "When I opened that cheque one of the first thoughts that I had was 'we might just nip to Melbourne'."

Transport manager husband Vince added, "It would be nice to turn left on a plane for the first time!"

Mum-of-two Anita shared the cash with 13 neighbours in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Each ticket was worth £58,823, but Anita banked £235,292 thanks to playing with four tickets.

First-Class Travel

Now the professionally-trained ballroom and Latin American dancer, who runs the Tu Danse school in the city, is dreaming of a first class flight to Oz to see son Jason, who is performing in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Anita said, "We're at the stage now where we've been talking about semi-retiring and looking forward to the next stage of our lives.

"This will be a really big help towards that, to be able to start making plans for the future and to maybe help the kids along the way a little bit as well.

"Both our sons, James and Jason, are in the performing arts. James has done lots of musicals too, like Les Misérables and Jersey Boys, but he is retraining as an accountant at the moment.

"James has two sons so it will be lovely to treat them to something - they'll have a lovely Christmas thanks to Postcode Lottery!"

A Fitting Tribute

The £58,823 win was bittersweet for care home worker Caroline a year after the death of her husband, who had originally signed up for a ticket. Now grandmother Caroline is planning to help her family in tribute to husband Paul.

She said, "I wish my husband Paul was here to see it. He passed away last year.

"It was him who started the lottery. I think he's looking down on us today.

"I'm 66 at the end of the year and I'll be retiring. This will mean I can do a lot of the things that me and my husband said we would always do if we won the lottery."

Caroline, who has two sons and three grandchildren, added, "I can help my family now, and that's what my husband would have wanted."

Big Dreams

Nearby neighbour Melissa told how it's not the first time her house has bagged her a big win, because it's also how she met husband John.

Former estate agent Melissa met John when she sold him the house in the winning postcode 27 years ago. The pair now plan to use their £58,823 winnings to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.

Melissa said, "I want a new kitchen and a holiday. I'd like to do New York and we'll be married 25 years next year, so it'll be nice to say to our travel agent, 'Don't worry about budget.'

"Our son Nathan, who is 22, will get a helping hand too. It's going to help a lot of people."

John had a simpler dream - a slap-up feast from the local takeaway. He joked, "We might even get a Chinese - I'll be having my usual chicken omelette, chips, sweet and sour chicken balls and spare ribs."

Humbled And Grateful

Royal Air Force veteran David said his win had left him feeling 'humbled and grateful'.

David, who was in the RAF for 30 years as a police search dog handler for drugs, arms and explosives, retired in 2014.

The dad-of-three, who is now a local DJ and community radio host at More Muzic Radio, found out he'd won just before heading out to perform at his daughter's school disco.

David, who celebrated with wife Beverley, said, "Bev is an accountant so every penny of this is already accounted for. I'm sure I'll be told what I'm doing with it very soon.

"Family holidays are most definitely on the cards. We have a favourite resort in Madeira, and I think a couple of weeks of all-expenses luxury is definitely in order."

He added, "I'm genuinely humbled and grateful."

The pair, who were childhood sweethearts but split up when they were 16, reconnected on Facebook after nearly three decades apart.

David said, "We got back in contact through social media and then met up. I married her 11 years ago and we've been lucky enough to be blessed with a 10-year-old daughter. I've got two grown-up children who live in Scotland too.

"This is something you never envisage happening to you. I'm delighted for everyone."

Trip Of A Lifetime

Lorry driver Tony admitted he thought the windfall was a hoax at first. He said, "I actually ignored the phone call. And then when I got a voicemail I just couldn't believe it."

The win was described as 'life-changing' by Tony and wife Karen, who has been on the waiting list for a hip operation for two years.

Local government worker Karen said, "It's life-changing, especially for me."

A trip of a lifetime is now also on the cards for the pair. Karen said, "We would both love to go to Canada, it's somewhere we've always wanted to go and travel around."

Tony added, "Hire an RV and off we go! I still can't believe this is real."

Boosting Local Charities

The neighbours' wins have also boosted charities in the Peterborough area.

A combined total of £1 Million is being shared between local charities in the winning Millionaire Street areas as part of November's Postcode Lottery draws.

SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, also known as the Blood Runners, provides a free local medical transport service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and was awarded £30,000.

And boss Cindy Dickerson has revealed it will help them expand their operation. The volunteer-led service delivers vital medical support by delivering blood, blood products, medical samples, medicine, medical equipment, and donated human milk, to NHS hospitals, Air Ambulance Services, Hospices, Human Donor Milk Banks, and vulnerable patients.

With a team of 160 volunteers that received The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2019, SERV always has at least seven Blood Runners on call.

The team have completed a staggering 16,000 assignments to date, covering 14,000 miles in October alone. The charity, which was founded in 2011, relies solely on donations to sustain its life-saving services.

Cindy Dickerson, Trustee and Chairman of SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, said, "It's overwhelming to be receiving this funding thanks to the players of People's Postcode Lottery. It means a lot for our volunteers' efforts to be recognised, and it will also help us with essential training, equipment and running costs which are around £40,000 annually.

"This has given us an invaluable opportunity to expand our operations and replace one of our vehicles so we can continue to support NHS organisations, emergency air ambulances, new mothers, vulnerable babies and cancer patients in our region."

Some of the other local charities being funded thanks to Saturday's Millionaire Street prize win include:

• The SUN Network Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CIC - £30,000 This charity is an organisation amplifying the voice of local people who need mental health and drugs and alcohol services.

• RSPCA Leicestershire, Peterborough & Rutland Branch - £50,000 The RSPCA are committed to helping to end cruelty towards animals. This branch works at a local level, helping to improve animal welfare in the area. It's run by a committee of local volunteers elected to look after the administration and management of the branch.

• Kingsgate Community Church - £30,000 Peterborough Foodbank exists to provide emergency food support, signposting and befriending for families facing hardship.

• Herds and Bulls Grass (Otherwise Storers of Eastrea) - £5,000 This charity has opened a Friendship Portal at the local Eastrea Centre where people can meet for a chat and drink.

• No Gain, No Pain UK (NGNPUK) - £5,000 This charity fundraises for syringe drivers, which are portable devices that administer pain relief in palliative care, for local communities. These devices help patients stay comfortable in their own homes, surrounded by loved ones. New syringe drivers are donated to the local district nursing teams for use in the community.

• Defibrillators For All - £10,000 This charity provides, maintains public access defibrillators and free training for their local town and surrounding villages. They also offer regular heart screening.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Places Trust (opens in a new tab).

Deserving Projects

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Planet Trust (opens in a new tab). Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that work to protect and promote our environment and wildlife. Benefiting charities include WWF-UK, Marine Conservation Society and The Wildlife Trusts.

Players aren't the only ones who benefit from People's Postcode Lottery. 33% of the ticket price goes to charities and good causes. Thanks to our players, more than £1.2 Billion has been raised for thousands of deserving projects around the world.

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