Whitley Bay neighbours share £1m jackpot after People's Postcode Lottery win

Kingsley Avenue postcode NE25 8RX was selected to win the weekly Millionaire Street jackpot on Saturday, January 13, with 11 tickets on the street now sharing in the prize.

Paul and Elaine, both 64, have won £166,666 after holding two tickets, and the street’s other winners have pocketed £83,333 each.

Paul said: “This is absolutely brilliant. We will be able to help the family out, but there has to be a holiday too.”

Elaine added: “My mum, who has now passed away, used to live in Majorca and we would go out on a regular basis. We have not been since three or four years, before Covid.

“We also have not had a holiday on our own for 22 years. It would be great to go to Majorca or somewhere similar. We want to have that good time.”

The couple are also planning to spend some of their winnings on helping out their children.

Their son Craig, 32, and eldest daughter Courtney, 24, are both set to get married soon and will receive some help towards their weddings, while their 22-year-old daughter Letitia, who the couple adopted after fostering her as a baby, has her eye on a new iPhone.

Paul, who is retired from the building trade, and ex-midwife Elaine both left their jobs after adopting Letitia, who has additional support needs, to care for her full time.

They started playing the lottery when her social worker picked up a £400,000 windfall in the draw.

Neighbour Susan Dodds, who has lived on the street for 40 years, is going to spend her winnings on a brand new kitchen and a trip to see her children, who live abroad.

The retired hospital worker and foster mum said: “I thought the prize was going to be about £1,000 and I would get my staircase painted.

“I thought I could get that sorted and it would still leave me with a few pounds to do some other things with, but when I saw the amount I thought I can get a new kitchen and paint the staircase.

“I have been thinking about a kitchen for a long, long time.”

She added: “It is a big shock, but a nice shock. Other than having kids, this is the next best day of my life.”

Susan, 66, suffers from COPD and needs oxygen, which has made her wary of travelling to see her son in Dubai and her daughter in Perth, Australia, but the grandmother-of-three is reconsidering.

She said: “It would be lovely if I could go and see them and it’s now worth having a look into. This gives me options today.”

In addition to the winning ticket holders, local charities will benefit from the postcode being drawn.

North Tyneside Disability Forum will receive a £50,000 grant from the Postcode Community Trust, while North Tyneside Art Studio, The Bay Foodbank, and the No Accommodation Network (Naccom) will receive £25,000 each.