An Unforgettable Year For Seaton Carew

Fire control operator Gail Wood had gone into major surgery believing she might not come out alive - even messaging loved ones afterwards to let them know she had survived.

But as she lay groggy on a hospital ward following a hysterectomy, Gail listened to a voicemail that would turn her darkest moment into one of the happiest days of her life: she’d scooped £12,000 a month for a year.

The extraordinary twist also came just days after her retired firefighter husband Jason dreamt that they’d won the lottery.

Gail, of Seaton Carew, County Durham, said: "I’d literally just come out of the recovery room after surgery. I remember thinking, ‘I’d better message people to say I’m alive’, because I’d got it into my head I wasn’t going to make it.

"I genuinely thought I might die."

She added: "I then saw that I had a voicemail from Postcode Lottery, and they said I’d won a prize, and they’d be coming to my street the very next day."

Then it all became very real when Gail received a knock on her front door, the morning after returning home from hospital.

She said: "I never ever expected to win anything like this. It’s nothing short of life changing."

Gail won with two other neighbours in the seaside village of Seaton Carew after TS25 1EB landed Postcode Lottery’s ‘An Unforgettable Year’ prize today. Every ticket was worth £12,000 a month for a year.

The day before Gail’s prize was revealed, she was sat up in her hospital bed, still sore and ‘not really with it’ after the anaesthetic, before seeing a missed call and a voicemail.

She said: "It was from someone at People’s Postcode Lottery. I thought it must be a scam, so I wanted to double-check."

She searched for the official Postcode Lottery phone number online and rang back to find out if it was legitimate.

To Gail’s delight, the caller knew exactly how long she had been playing and how much she’d helped raise for charity over the years.

Gail said: "The guy on the phone told me I’d been playing since 2009 and that I’d personally raised hundreds of pounds for charity. That’s when I thought, ‘This sounds real’."

As she spoke quietly on the phone, the women in the neighbouring hospital beds started listening in.

Gail said: "They were all looking at me. You could tell they were thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’"

Trying to keep her voice down, she finally said out loud: "I think People’s Postcode Lottery are coming to knock on my door."

As soon as Gail realised the win was genuine, she rang her husband Jason, who was at home looking after their dogs.

His reaction wasn’t what she expected. Gail said: "He thought I was making it up because of the drugs. He said, ‘You’re off your head’."

Jason, a retired fire service watch manager, genuinely believed his wife was hallucinating after surgery - but made a surprise confession once he realised it was real.

Gail said: "Jason admitted he’d had a dream a few days earlier that he’d won the lottery. I was like, ‘You what?’"

Jason added: "I never dream. And if I do, I never remember them. But this one stuck with me.

"It wasn’t about buying flashy things. We had won a large amount of money, and I was sitting there saying, ‘How much do we give the kids?’"

Both Gail and Jason spent their working lives in the fire service - Jason on the front line and Gail behind the scenes in the control room.

Jason retired as a watch manager of Hartlepool fire station six years ago after 30 years’ service, but Gail still works as an operator in the Cleveland Fire Brigade emergency control room.

Gail said: "I was actually meant to start my new day-shift role yesterday - but I ended up in hospital instead."

She said: "To have that choice is amazing. You take a hit on your pension if you go early, but something like this really makes a difference."

The couple share three children and five grandchildren - and they’ll get a slice of the good fortune.

Gail said: "We’ve got great kids and a beautiful family. We’ll give the kids some money. One of them is getting married next year, so that’ll help."

Despite the six-figure win, Gail insists the money will be spent on practical things rather than flashy treats.

Gail said: "The first thing will be a new front door. The door exploded the other day and it’s broken, so that’s what we’ll get on with."

Later in the year, the couple plan to tackle more home improvements, including replacing their driveway.

She said: "Probably around June, we’ll get a new drive done."

Travel is also on the cards - but in true Gail-and-Jason fashion, it’s about togetherness, not luxury.

Gail said: "We might have a trip away. Nothing fancy – just getting away as a family."

Although the couple already own a campervan, Gail revealed they may look at upgrading or adding another one so it can be shared by the family.

She said: "We might look for a campervan so the kids can share it between them. That would be really nice."

They are also well known locally for volunteering and charity work, from fire service causes - the pair met more than 16 years ago while training young firefighters - to rugby club fundraising and Meals on Wheels.

Even the day after Christmas, Gail was still giving.

She said: "I went out doing Meals on Wheels. We sent meals to family, neighbours - whoever needed one."

Jason added: "I know she’s my wife, but she deserves everything. She does so much for everyone else."

Gail and Jason were both delighted to hear that two of their neighbours had won too.

She said: "It’s amazing, I love our neighbours. We’ll have a street party!"

Gail’s loving mum added: "You will be going to bed, dear."

Deserving Causes

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Green Trust which supports charities including Surfers Against Sewage, Woodland Trust, and Fauna & Flora.

Players aren't the only ones who benefit from People's Postcode Lottery. A minimum of 30% of each ticket price goes to charities and good causes. Thanks to our fantastic players, more than £1.5 Billion has been raised for thousands of deserving projects.

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