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Four neighbours in Dover are celebrating after winning a share of £150,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery.
CT16 2QL was announced as a winner today, landing three lucky people a cheque for £30,000 each.
Roddy and Helen win big
The fourth winner, who plays with two tickets, doubled their prize to £60,000.
Among the winners was 74-year-old Roddy Hayward who has lived at the postcode for 24 years and scooped £30,000.
Roddy was joined by his wife of 34 years, Karen, when he received his prize and exclaimed: “That’s pretty damn amazing, thank you.
“You don’t know how much of a good surprise this is, this kind of thing never happens to me.
"I didn’t believe it at first, I thought it was a joke.”
The grandad-of-two says he has plenty of plans for the windfall as he is shortly due to retire as a forecourt operative at a local garage.
He said: “Karen loves handbags so we’ll sort her out with a new handbag.
"I like watches - I’ve got my eye on one from one of the James Bond films.
"I want to take my eldest grandson to Hamleys in London and let him pick what he wants too, and we’ll put a bit away for the youngest who’s just seven months.
“We’ll be having a little party to celebrate later too.”
Neighbour Helen McGinn was thrilled when Postcode Lottery ambassador Jeff Brazier knocked on her door to hand over a cheque for £30,000, telling him: “You’re the perfect man today!”
The 63-year-old was joined by her sister Marion when she received the prize.
The sisters, who are originally from the Scottish seaside town of Saltcoats and moved to Dover 20 years ago, clapped and cheered when they saw the sum on the cheque.
Helen said: “It feels amazing. It’s quite overwhelming to get the gold envelope. I never thought this would happen to me in a million years.
“My wee dog Johnny needs an x-ray, so that’ll be the first thing I get. He’s a Chinese Crested and 16 years old.
“And I’ll be going up to Scotland to see my mother, she still stays in Saltcoats. I might get a new couch too.
“I never thought I’d win but I’m feeling very lucky today. We’ll be celebrating with a wee cup of tea.”
The other winners chose to remain anonymous but their prize will be paid into their bank account.
Jeff Brazier said: “It was my absolute pleasure to spread some cheer in Dover and hand over some lovely big cheques to Roddy and Helen.
"I’m chuffed for them and their neighbours – I hope they enjoy spending the cash.”
People’s Postcode Lottery costs £10 a month to play and there are guaranteed winners every day.
People play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws.
Players have helped raise over £900 million to date for thousands of good causes across Britain and internationally.