Gran breaks down in tears as Nottinghamshire street wins £1m in Postcode Lottery

Margaret Chapman, in centre with summer dress on, breaks down in tears with husband Barry on left and Daryl Johnson, Postcode Lottery ambassador, on right as he hands them £83,333 cheque
Margaret Chapman was tearful as she found out she'd won £83,333 -Credit:Postcode Lottery


A Nottinghamshire gran broke down in tears as she learnt she had won more than £80,000 in the People's Postcode Lottery. Margaret Chapman is one of eleven residents on Violet Avenue in Newthorpe who scooped an £83,333 share of a £1,000,000 prize pot, with one neighbour, who had two tickets, scooping £166,666.

The whopping win means that Mrs Chapman, 80, and her husband Barry, 86, can "treat the family", having already travelled the world themselves. They said they'll split the money between her two children and three grandchildren.

The residents were taken by surprise when Postcode Lottery ambassador Daryl Johnson turned up on their doorsteps to give them the news. Gran Diane Westley, 56, said she had been happy winning £10 in the past - never mind more than 8000 times more than that.

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She said: "The first thing I bought for my husband when I knew I had won was a dryrobe. It’s overwhelming, unbelievable. I can’t take it all in. I’d like to go to Walt Disney World in Florida again. I’d like to do it with the whole family, it’s one of my dreams.

Georgina Riley, 39, also won. She said she almost fainted when she found out.

Postcode Lottery winners on Violet Avenue, Newthorpe, Nottinghamshire, with hands in air celebrating and holding cheques for £83,333
Ten residents won £83,333, with one, who isn't pictured, scooping £166,666 from two tickets -Credit:Postcode Lottery

She said: "It feels surreal. I was waiting for Ant and Dec to leap out and say that this isn’t real. I changed my outfit four times this morning, I haven’t eaten anything and I almost fainted on the doorstep. Then I realised I hadn’t done my nails. It’s all been very stressful.”

Georgina, her husband Paul, 41 and their two children will be able to afford to go up the Burj Khalifa, swim with dolphins and dine in a Michelin restaurant on their upcoming holiday to Dubai - as well as get a new bathroom after the shower fell off the wall.

Also victorious was retired B&Q worker Janice Noon, 72, who said she already had everything she wanted but that the money would help her and her husband John have a "happier, better retirement". She said: “I’m still in shock, my heart’s going! But it’s nice…a lovely feeling. The cheque will be framed and is going up in the toilet. It’s brilliant to win with our neighbours, it’s a brilliant community. The champagne is already on ice."

Money from the Violet Drive prize pot also went to local charities. Home Start Nottingham, a charity which helps struggling families, got £60,000, as did Citizens Advice Broxtowe, while Broxtowe Women's Project got £50,000 and Age Concern Eastwood got £20,000.