TIDWORTH neighbours are celebrating this week after landing £30,000 each with the People’s Postcode Lottery, all thanks to their lucky postcode, SP9 7FR.

Overall, eight people in the postcode won the prize on Sunday, 29 October one of whom, Una Williams, fell to her knees with the shock of the win.

The 66-year-old said said: “I just went to jelly when I saw the number on the cheque – I had to get them to keep confirming it to me before I could believe it. It’s a glorious feeling!

“I have two children and three grandchildren so they’ll each be getting something, and a close friend of mine does a lot of fundraising in memory of her son, so I’ll give her a nice donation.”

Lucy Orchard, 31, was delighted with the prize. She said: “It’s amazing; I can’t believe we’ve won so much. My husband Iain and I would love to do a loft conversion at some point so this will definitely help. We’ve got two little girls who are one and three, and I think we’ll treat ourselves to a holiday next year too.”

Christopher Hay, 42, who was with his wife Ami and son Aiden when he was presented with his cheque, said: “It takes a bit of time to sink in, I still can’t believe it. I’ve been playing since February 2015 and had only won £10 until now.

“We’d already booked a holiday to the Dominican Republic next year, but now we can really splash out while we’re there!”

Michelle Carter, 45, has special plans for her winnings: “I’d dreamt of spending either Christmas or New Year in New York so this will hopefully happen now!

“I’ve been playing since July 2015 and won £10 or £20 here and there, but nothing like this – since I found out about my win, four or five of my friends have already started playing!”

Andrew Yale, 33, was joined by his wife Jess: “We’ve been talking about Jess getting her driving licence for a while, so this will cover lessons and a car for her. We’re also heading to Germany to spend Christmas with family so this will make it a really fantastic one.”

“We were due to move house recently with my work but it didn’t end up happening, and I’m really glad it didn’t!”

Lilian Kwamie, 36, was speechless when the £30,000 was revealed. She said: “I’m in shock! I saw the advert on TV and thought I might as well give it a try, and here we are. I can’t believe it.”

Karen Barrington-Clark, 53, wasn’t home to receive her cheque, but her husband Julien was happy to open it on her behalf. He said: “I can’t believe it. I can’t wait to show Karen!”

There was one other winner on the street that was not available to receive their cheque.

A minimum of 31 per of ticket sales goes directly to charities.

A cause that has received support from players is Andover Trees United, which was awarded £17,420 this year. The funding will enable the group to create a woodland space that can be used by the community for recreation and education.

For more information on People’s Postcode Lottery, go to www.postcodelottery.co.uk.