Residents in Walderslade are "on top of the world" after hitting the jackpot with the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Nine neighbours in Oakhurst Close have each pocketed £185,000 for every ticket they purchased after their postcode, ME5 9AN, was revealed as the big winner in a prize draw.

The huge prize pot for the street comes in at about £2 million.

Along with the biggest winners, a further 1,091 players in the ME5 9 Chatham postcode sector received cheques ranging from £1,487 to £4,461, depending on how many tickets they played with.

In total, £3.7 million is to be shared throughout the postcode.

One of the stunned winners, Patricia Hutchings, learned of her victory only minutes before departing for a holiday in Las Vegas.

The 52-year-old said: “I’ve just won the lottery on the same day that I’m flying to Las Vegas! I can’t believe it. This doesn’t happen to me.

"I’ve never had that much money in my life..."

"It’s a delayed 50th birthday trip. I had my 50th birthday two years ago but because of Covid I couldn’t go anywhere.

“It’s just going to be the best holiday ever.”

Patricia, who works as a financial advisor, added: “I can now cut down my hours at work. I’ve been doing 11-hour days and it’s been really tiring. I can also get the kitchen done and treat my family when I’m back. It’s absolutely amazing.

“This has changed my life.”

Robin White, 67, won the biggest prize on the street and couldn’t believe his eyes after seeing his total.

Due to playing with two tickets, he won a total of £370,000.

“It’ll take a while to sink in. I’m gobsmacked,” he said.

The dad-of-five says he plans to use some of the winnings on a long-awaited knee replacement: “I can get a new knee. It’ll make a huge difference to my life.”

Another neighbour to win £185,000 is crime scene investigation trainer Carlo Antoncini.

“It’s the greatest April Fools I’ve ever had," he said.

"It’s lovely because we’re such a nice community here..."

Fellow winner Brooke Forbes said: “I’ve never had that much money in my life.

"I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me. I’m just on top of the world.

“We already said whatever it is we’re going to put it towards the house and have a big holiday. We’ve been saving up for that really hard, but we don’t need to do that anymore.”

The People’s Postcode Lottery costs £10 a month to play and there are guaranteed winners every day.

Participants play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws.

Debbie Allen, who runs a beauty therapy training school, said: “It’s lovely because we’re such a nice community here so it’s lovely to be able to share this with my neighbours.

"I’ve lived here over 21 years and most of my neighbours have lived as long or longer than that so everyone knows each other.”