The winners were whisked from their homes in Brechin to a specially organised event at House of Dun in Montrose, where it was revealed exactly how much each player had won. There was plenty of excitement as the neighbours eagerly awaited the distribution of the seven-figure sum, with totals ranging from £8,812 to £239,663 eventually being handed out.
Sheila Black was one of two lucky players from the month’s full winning postcode of DD9 6JH to walk away with £239,663, a reward that will help her care for her loved ones: “I’ll be able to help out my family and go and visit my son in Australia – in fact, after seeing how much I’ve won I think I’ll be able to go a few times,” the 64-year-old told reporters. Sheila also revealed that she was flabbergasted when she discovered how much she had won: “It’s just absolutely amazing. I came along today and looked around at all the people, and wondered who would be the big winner – I never thought for a second that it would be me.”
Neighbour Susan Lindsay was the second player to benefit from the largest sum on offer. “I’m totally overwhelmed,” she said. “It’s a life-changing amount for me. I can treat my family and friends – I don’t know what I’ll do with the money yet, but it will be something lovely.” With so many postcodes entered into the draw, the 52-year-old was particularly surprised that her hometown had been selected, and she was even more taken aback to see so many of her friends all in one place: “Brechin’s a small place, so it was incredible to see people I know here who have won as well.”
The Postcode Lottery donates at least 30 percent of ticket revenue to good causes, including Girlguiding, the Woodland Trust and Riding for the Disabled Association, all of whom had representatives in attendance at the event. To date, the game has raised over £182 million for more than 2,800 good causes. It is this very reason why winner Sheila signed up to play: “It's not just us that have won today, it's all the charities too,” she smiled, before adding: I'll be telling my friends to sign up now!"
