I won £76k on People’s Postcode lottery… I feel like a fraud & shouldn’t have won a penny
The husband and wife can now afford a honeymoon
A COUPLE who won £76,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery say they feel like frauds and shouldn’t have won a penny.
Ashley signed up to play the draw just two months ago, and forked out £24 for her tickets before bagging a sizeable £76,923.
The beauty therapy student from South Shields, Tyne and Wear, said: “Twenty-four pounds! Two months! This feels like a dream.”
Husband Colin, an HGV driver, added: “We feel like such frauds. It really doesn’t feel real.”
Ashley and 10 other neighbours shared the £1million prize money after their postcode NE33 4TH came up in the weekly Millionaire Street draw on May 11.
Nine neighbours won £76,923 each with two others doubling their prize to £153,846 thanks to playing with two tickets.
Ashley was almost out the door to go to college when the Postcode Lottery team turned up on her doorstep.
The mum-of-four said: “I’m shaking. We’ve got four kids. Two of them don’t even own a passport and have never been on holiday before.”
Happy hubby Colin said: “I can’t believe it. I literally don’t believe it. It just never happens.
“Ashley lost her dad last year and I lost mine a few years ago and we’ve just had a real run of bad luck.”
The couple tied the knot in 2021 when Covid restrictions were eased after Ashley received the heartbreaking news that her dad had been given just 12 months to live.
Ashley told how they’d never even gone on honeymoon after their low-key, post-pandemic wedding.
She said: “We literally went to the registry office and went to a local pub after. We were only allowed so many people.
“We’ve never been on our own other than our wedding night. We don’t really have anyone for babysitting.
“We’ve both got our mums, but to take four kids is a big ask.”
The couple haven’t decided on a honeymoon destination yet – but after a tough few years for the family they intend on letting their son and three daughters choose their dream holiday.
Colin said: “If the kids want to go on an aeroplane anywhere, I’d think they’d want to go to the other side of the world.
“It’s nice that we’ll be able to do something for them. It’s just beyond.”
Ashley added: “Our youngest, Zara, would die to go to Disneyland.”
Ashley decided to start playing after her friend, who lives in the neighbouring town of Boldon Colliery, had a £1,000 cash win.
She said: “My friend Claire said that the Postcode Lottery didn’t even contact her, and she just opened her mail, and it was like £1,000 through the door. And I was like, ‘We need to sign up’.”
Before the Postcode Lottery team turned up at her house, Ashley had ignored all earlier attempts to get in touch with her, thinking it was a scam.
How People's Postcode Lottery winners almost lost it all
Ashley and Colin aren’t the only people to win the People’s Postcode Lottery who thought they didn’t deserve the money.
Leyla Eaton, 33, said in April this year, she almost didn’t snag a ticket for the People’s Postcode Lottery, but is so thankful she did.
The mum-of-two landed the six-figure prize after being struck by a “strong feeling”.
Leyla claimed it was a “voice” that urged her to buy a ticket one day while she was sitting on her sofa.
Two months later she won the jackpot – alongside her neighbours.
Earlier in April, a lucky couple told how they could have missed out on £142,000 if they hadn’t moved house.
Chris and his wife Anne Nicholls, both 76, of Sesley, West Sussex, admitted they were lucky after moving to the winning street last April.
The winning duo would’ve been left with nothing had they stayed at their old residence.
“It’s been a lucky move,” Chris said.
In February 2024, a winner who secured £12,000 a month for a year revealed they nearly missed out due to a run of bad luck.
Retired NHS nurse Meg Carr, 69, and her husband Andy were kicked out their home in 1992 and weren’t able to buy it back for 22 years.
She said: “We tend not to answer emails and phone calls because it’s usually people asking for money. It’s not usually good people.”
Ashley, who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Children and Young People from Newcastle College, is training to be a beauty therapist to have more time to balance childcare.
She said: “I’ve always wanted to get into teaching but now that I’ve got four children, I needed something to do that works in with the kids.
“Being a beauty therapist means I can work around the kids instead of having to put them into breakfast club and after-school club.”
The couple moved into Colin’s childhood house on Hepscott Terrace when his mum decided to downsize following his dad’s death.
Colin said: “Our house looks a lot prettier than our lives have been.
“But it’s water under the bridge now. This is sort of lovely and positive for the kids.”
He added: “I’ve known many of the neighbours since the age of eight as I lived here as a kid. I’ve known many of them for years. It’s brilliant that so many people have won.”
