Holmfirth Hosts Big Win

Holmfirth, the small Yorkshire town where the BBC classic 'Last of the Summer Wine' was filmed, was going absolutely 'Batty' today, after 67 neighbours shared £2 Million in September's Postcode Millions.

The series, Britain's longest-running sitcom, put the pretty West Yorkshire parish of Holmfirth on the map and featured some of our best-loved characters – Compo, Clegg, Foggy and Nora Batty. Now we can add a few more names to the list of Holmfirth residents we will all remember.

Area Sales Manager James Wilson, 54, scooped £400,000 after his postcode, HD9 2HY, was announced as the full winning postcode. An amazing 66 others received cheques ranging from £3,547 to £63,856.

James said, "I would have been absolutely delighted with a cheque for £1,000. To win £400,000 is just absolutely overwhelming. Things like this just don't happen to people like us."

"We've just bought a new house," continued James. "We're probably going to use a big portion of the money decorating. I don't know if we should change our postcode now!"

Born and bred in the famous town of Holmfirth, James, who attended the celebration with his wife Elaine and dog Bella, said, "Our 23-year-old daughter Megan is on her way home from holiday right now, so we've not been able to tell her the news. I doubt she'll believe me when we eventually tell her."

"This has really brought the whole community together," said James. "It's been absolutely amazing."

Sector winner Mark Antrobus, 52, had already scooped £17,737 during the event before discovering he had also won a brand new BMW 1 Series.

People's Postcode Lottery ambassador Judie McCourt, who was the lucky lady handing out the cheques to the delighted winners, said, "What a great start to the weekend it has been for the people of Holmfirth. I can't believe we've just given away £2 Million! Today has been so exciting, and everyone has had an absolutely fantastic time; Congratulations to all our lucky winners!"

It wasn't just players who came to the Postcode Millions event. The winners celebration saw a number of supported charities in attendance, including Missing People, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, Royal Voluntary Service and Riding for the Disabled Association.

Rob Stoneman, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said, "We were delighted to celebrate the Postcode Millions in Holmfirth today with all the local players, who support some excellent causes in both the local area and further afield. For us, Holmfirth is a very special place, being only five miles round the corner from one of our biggest projects in Yorkshire, Stirley Community Farm.

"Over the past few years, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has received over £800,000 in support from players of People's Postcode Lottery, which has enabled us to do much more across the whole region. Therefore it really is a pleasure to be able to congratulate some of our local winners and to be able to thank them all for playing and supporting charities like us!"