Breaston cul-de-sac residents share huge £1m Postcode Lottery win

Three next-door neighbours in a quiet Derbyshire cul-de-sac are planning a ‘big, big street party’ after pocketing a share of a £1m prize on the People’s Postcode Lottery. Paul Rowland, 63, George Mounsey, 81, and Alison Browne, 66 – who all live in semis next to each other in Breaston – gasped with shock when they each revealed £200,000 cheques.

They shared a £1m pot with Paul White, 78, who lives in a bungalow opposite, and another neighbour who wished to remain anonymous. Their DE72 3BZ postcode bagged them the weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday, October 19, with every ticket worth £200,000.

Alison Browne said: “It’s a fantastic feeling and I can’t stop smiling. But we’re going to have a big, big party on the street. It’s wonderful. We’ve known George and Paul for over 30 years and we get on really, really well. It’s a lovely street, lovely neighbours and a lovely place to live.”

For Alison, a music exam coordinator and mother of two, this prize money means that she and her music teacher husband Tim will be rekindling their travel plans for their anniversary, which landed in Covid-19, meaning they had to cancel them. The couple plans to use their funds to travel on the iconic Orient Express in Canada.

Another winner Paul White, a retired electrical contractor, is already planning his Christmas holiday to Australia after learning he won the lump sum, he said: “I always wanted to go to Australia. When I first got married, I got all the paperwork to emigrate. My wife at the time said she didn’t want to leave her parents, so we didn’t go.

“I’m apprehensive. It still hasn’t sunk in really at the moment. I was expecting a couple of thousand, but that’s a lot of noughts. To look at this piece of cardboard and then you can’t imagine it as £200,000 in a pile on the floor.”

Paul, who works in a prison service national distribution centre, and Angie, a midwife, are another lucky couple who won a share of the prize. Paul said: "When I started to pull my cheque out of the envelope, I saw the ‘2’ and thought, ‘Wow, I’ve won £20,000. ‘Then, when I carried on pulling it out, I saw more and more zeroes. And I just couldn’t believe it.”

Childhood sweethearts George Mounsey and his partner Margaret Blurton, 82, were shocked when they found out they were some of the lucky winners, and they have decided to get a static caravan in Yorkshire with their winnings, George said: "Margaret would like a static caravan in Yorkshire somewhere. We’ll see, we may invest. We’ve travelled the world and seen a lot of places. We’ve got two Schnauzers and when you’ve got dogs, you’ve got to think about them all the time. World cruises are out.”

As a result of the local win, one Derbyshire-based charity, Treetops Hospice, has been awarded £100,000 by the Postcode Community Trust. The charity supports over 2,000 people with life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis.

Julie Heath, CEO of Treetops Hospice Trust, said: This funding is the equivalent of what we need to raise for three local people to have the care of a hospice-at-home nurse every night for the next year, so this is truly going to have an impact. We are in challenging times at the moment, so we are incredibly grateful to have received these vital funds.”

The hospice wasn't alone in its charitable donations. The Breaston Women's Institute, which gives women in the local area the opportunity to make friends, learn, and support their community, was also awarded £10,000.