Earl Shilton Millionaire Street

A miracle grandad and his wife have won almost half a million pounds - months after cheating death. Doctors told Michael that flying home from a Greek holiday after suffering two strokes could have killed him. The businessman is battling back to health after two gruelling operations to clear blocked carotid arteries.

Now he is celebrating with his wife Sandra. The couple - who have five children and 10 grandchildren - shared £1 Million with six neighbours when Earl Shilton postcode LE9 7PA was today revealed as the winner of our weekly Millionaire Street prize.

Each ticket picked up £76,923, but Michael and Sandra had six tickets between them. Another neighbour doubled their prize to £153,846 as they were playing with two tickets.

A Close Shave

After People's Postcode Lottery Presenter Jeff Brazier had revealed the couple's whopping cheques, a shocked Michael said, "If I'm honest, I'm lucky to be alive - and this is the icing on the cake. Something like this happening was the furthest thing from my mind after everything."

Midwife Sandra added, "I'm not that emotional, but this is incredible. It's beyond my wildest dreams."

The win has wiped away years of torment for the couple after Michael's brush with death.

Michael, whose neck still bears the scar of a second operation, explained how he became unwell while abroad with Sandra last October. He said, "I had a couple of strokes while on holiday. I went to the hospital in Rhodes and it was diagnosed right away. I lost my speech for a short while each time.

"I flew back home when I probably shouldn't have. When I got home the doctor told me that there was a 90-per-cent chance I would have arrived in the UK dead.

"Both carotid arteries were 90-per-cent blocked."

Michael had two operations to clear the arteries - one immediately after arriving home from holiday and the second one last month.

He described how his £307,692 windfall was a happy accident after buying more tickets by mistake. He said, "I've been doing Postcode Lottery since it started. I originally bought two tickets. But after six months, I was looking at my bank statement. A few days before I had cancelled some Direct Debits and I couldn't see the Postcode Lottery payment.

"I thought I'd cancelled it, too, so I bought two more tickets, then the original payment came out the next day. It meant I then had four tickets."

He added, "I thought about cancelling two, but then thought that if I did that and then won, I'd be really annoyed."

Sandra, who picked up £153,846 as she played with two tickets, said, "He told me he had two tickets and I thought, 'He's not going to win without me - I should have two!'"

Now she's considering giving up her job as a midwife after taking semi-retirement a few years ago. Sandra said, "I love my job, absolutely love it. I retired once and went back again. But this might be the push I need to properly retire."

Michael quipped, "If it doesn't, I will."

He added, "This has blown my mind. I've never seen figures like that in my bank account before. It will be nice to help my kids out - to do things they want to do. I never thought we'd be able to help and now we can."

People's Postcode Lottery Presenter Jason Donovan said, "I had a fantastic day surprising this week's lucky Millionaire Street winners in Earl Shilton. I especially loved watching the neighbours celebrate together."

Jason was also delighted to hear about a local charity that's benefited from player support. He said, "Every time players buy a ticket, charities win and it's great to see Lamp (Leicestershire Action for Mental Health Project) helping navigate people through the complexities of mental health support and empowering them to rebuild their lives."

Lamp Advocacy provide a free independent mental health service to help people who want to access care and support for their mental health well-being. Last year, Lamp was awarded £25,000 thanks to players of People's Postcode Lottery.

Millions For Good Causes

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Animal Trust (opens in a new tab). Supported by our players, this trust provides grant funding to organisations that work to educate, support and promote animal welfare and conservation. Benefiting charities include Dogs Trust, Riding for the Disabled Association and PDSA.

With People's Postcode Lottery, 33% of the ticket price goes to charities and good causes. To date, players have raised more than £1.1 Billion for thousands of deserving projects across Great Britain, as well as internationally.

What would you do with a big win? If you're not playing yet, learn more about how People's Postcode Lottery works and sign up to play today. There are Prizes announced every day and thousands of winners every week!