Surprise For Stoke-on-Trent

Over 800 residents of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent will be celebrating this weekend after scooping a share of £3.1 Million in November's Postcode Millions prize.

Among the winners, four neighbours netted the lion's share when ST3 2RA was revealed as the full winning postcode on Facebook. Each of the four winners received a cheque for an incredible £381,182.

Over The Moon

Dawn was one of our big winners to receive a knock on her door from People's Postcode Lottery Presenter Danyl Johnson and was left floored with her massive prize. She was joined by her husband Gary and the couple gasped when they saw the cheque. Dawn exclaimed, "Oh my God, I'm over the moon. I'm ready to cry!" Gary, who works as a retail security guard and a doorman, added, "It means a lot. We've won money in the past, but never that amount or anywhere near it." Dawn agreed, "A life-changing sum of money."

The mum-of-two said that the win had left her completely stunned. When asked what she would do first she said, "I'll just be an emotional wreck. I'll be crying my eyes out for most of the day probably. I've got to go shopping in a bit later. I'm in a world of my own!"

When asked how they may spend their windfall, the couple were quick to suggest some ideas. Gary said, "We'll probably book a holiday somewhere. Somewhere where we can take the dog, go as a family. We could maybe look at moving. We both said we want to move just because we want a bigger house, and you can't get one through the council unless you have exceptional circumstances. Plus, my knees aren't that good either and we always entertained the thought of having a bungalow. We can get a nice place with a big yard for the dog to run round in. It'll be nice to have something that we couldn't have gotten normally."

The money would also help Gary change career. He said, "Now I can get the job I want to go into. I've always wanted to do a different job and I could probably do that course now, which is an excavator driver, which I've always wanted to do. 

"We've never had the money to do the course and I can afford that now. I've never had the finances to do it and now I do!"

Treating The Family

The couple were also looking forward to treating their family with their windfall, especially with the holidays around the corner. Gary thought their two sons would be having an exciting holiday season. He said, "The boys have told us what they wanted. We were originally going to have a look at my wages this month and we thought we were going to be limited a bit with what they could have had off the list. But now they can have whatever they want." Dawn laughed and added, "They'll both be having new, top-of-the-range phones, definitely. I've got a niece and nephew as well and they're going to have whatever they want! They're just going to have everything."

As the news sank in, the couple called Dawn's family to share the good news. Dawn later said her mum couldn't believe it. She explained, "She started crying on the phone and my dad had to hold her and just make sure she was okay. I rang my nana after and said, 'You need to sit down!'"

Dawn hoped to get her family together soon to celebrate. She said, "We'll have one big party and it's just going to be an amazing Christmas with everybody, and they'll all be coming to me!"

The other 812 players in the postcode sector, ST3 2, netted different cheque amounts depending on the number of tickets they played with. Those with one ticket won £1,769, those with two tickets won £3,538, those with three tickets won £5,307, and those with four tickets won £7,076. One player with six tickets pocketed £10,614.

Dawn was thrilled that so many people in the community have won a prize. She said, "I'm just absolutely ecstatic for everybody else because at the end of the day everybody deserves it."

Danyl Johnson shared his congratulations with all our lucky winners. He said, "What a fantastic surprise for our winners in Stoke-on-Trent today, I am so pleased for them all! I'm sure they'll all be celebrating tonight and with the holidays coming up soon, I'm sure they'll put their winnings to good use.

"I had a great time presenting Dawn and Gary their cheque and I hope they enjoy their winnings!"

Good Causes Everywhere

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Support Trust, which provides regular grant funding to organisations which support people who need help to live happy and more fulfilled lives. Supported charities include Crisis, Missing People and Royal Voluntary Service.

With People's Postcode Lottery, 33% of the ticket price goes to charities and good causes. To date, players have raised more than £800 Million for over 9,000 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!