North Seaton Millionaire Street

AN ASTOUNDED mum had a three-minute meltdown of excited screaming and sobbing after finding out she'd won £250,000 with People's Postcode Lottery.

Lesley Hogg was visibly shaking when our lottery team first turned up at her door, then erupted in a breathless frenzy when she saw the size of her prize.

She staggered around her drive, repeatedly held her hand to her mouth, bounced up and down, yelled, laughed and cried until she finally fell into her stunned husband Robin's arms for hugs and kisses.

Lesley, of North Seaton, Northumberland, gasped: "Eeeee! I would never have dreamed of it. The most I had put in my head was £30,000. I did not think £250,000, to be honest. When I saw all the noughts on the end, I couldn't believe it.

"I never even dared to dream. I never thought it would happen that we would win this amount of money. This is everything to us, and it couldn't have come at a better time."

She added: "Robin and I have just been looking at each other and laughing since finding out I'd won. And I've been singing the song."

An emotional Robin said: "This is just unbelievable ... life-changing."

Lesley celebrated with three neighbours in North Seaton after NE63 9YW bagged our weekly £1m Millionaire Street prize today. Every winning ticket was worth £250,000.

And the mum-of-one revealed the joyous news has come after a tough few months for them.

Hubby Robin was recently diagnosed with diabetes, doctors caught early signs of skin cancer for Lesley, and other family members have been hit with health problems.

The DWP executive officer said: "Robin was diagnosed with diabetes. I had a mole taken off - it was examined and found to be melanoma. Luckily, it was just stage one.

"This win has taken our minds off everything else; it's been happy news."

Now she and Robin, a shift leader at a plastics manufacturer, plan to splash out on a holiday.

They'll also help the family, including daughter Ellie, who got engaged last year and is about to move into her first home with her fiancé.

Lesley said: "This means the absolute world. We really will be able to help more with my parents and our daughter.

"A lovely holiday would be nice. Santorini always looks beautiful, but we've never been there."

She added: "We'll be sorting Ellie's house out now. I had said to her before that you just need the basics - somewhere to sleep and somewhere to sit - and just build it up from there."

Ambassador Judie McCourt said Lesley's reaction was "incredible".

She said: "It's a wonderful job travelling round the country delivering good news. But it is really special to get such an incredible reaction.

"Lesley was amazing, and you could absolutely see how much this means to her."

Along the road, Mick Turner told us how he was picking up his wife Lovaine's £250,000 prize while she recovers from a hip op in hospital.

He revealed she only started playing after close friends and next-door neighbours David and Valerie Evans signed up for Postcode Lottery.

And they all celebrated on Mick's driveway after revealing their bumper cheques together.

Grandmother Valerie said: "We said we were going to do the Postcode Lottery. We felt they deserved it more because you can see where the money is going.

"Lovaine said they would sign up as well because they weren't going to be left out. They've been two of the best neighbours we've ever had."

David added: "It's even better again to win with our neighbours."

Dad-of-three Mick laughed as he told us how Lovaine signed up after the Evans, saying: "We just joined it because David and Valerie joined it.

"Lovaine said, 'I don't want you to win any money when I'm not getting it.' Lovaine will just say to the neighbours, 'It's all your fault.'"

He added: "It's great to win with the neighbours. They're lovely neighbours."

Retired computer technician David and Valerie were stunned by their win and vowed to help their daughter and two grandsons.

David said: "This means a lot. I just did not expect that at all. I think I swore."

Valerie chipped in: "I think I cried."

David added: "We'll need to discuss it. There's a big chance we'll help our daughter and either give her two boys a deposit for a house or pay their uni fees off.

"It is strange at this time of life. When you're younger and setting off, you could do with this kind of money.

"We've had a good living and good jobs. Whilst I wouldn't say we need the money, it's very nice to do something with it and we're around to see the benefit of it."

Valerie revealed they want their living room revamped with a new fire - and may step up their tours across the UK.

She said: "We'll be changing the living room and have wanted an electric fire with flames to make it look cosy.

"We've toured all over Scotland and go to Yorkshire a lot. We've discovered a lot of different places in this country."

Neighbour Mick said wife Lovaine - who celebrated her birthday days before the win - was left stunned when he called her in hospital.

The ex-miner - who has three sons and six grandchildren - said: "It was a big, big, big surprise. She said, 'Oooooh! That will be lovely for the family.' That's all she thinks about.

"It's quite hard to describe how I feel. I had to look two or three times to believe it. If I was a bit younger, I might have enjoyed it more."

Now they'll split the cash with their family. He said: "We'll share it equally with the family. We have three sons and it's up to them to decide what they want to do with it. We'll just quarter it.

"I phoned them up when we found out we were winning, but none of them believed me. They believe me now!"

Winner Lesley said she's thrilled that the Millionaire Street win will also give local charities a vital funding boost.

She said: "It will be lovely for the community and everyone around here. It's amazing that this will help other people as well."

David also mentioned his joy at the charity boost, saying: "I'm really pleased about that. It's fantastic. It gets better all the time, doesn't it?"

One local organisation - Mortal Fools, an award-winning young people's theatre, drama and creative learning charity - has been awarded £50,000 by Postcode Community Trust.

Mortal Fools provides high-quality, exciting, socially relevant arts experiences where children and young people aged 7 to 25 can co-create theatre, film, audio and events with professional creatives.

The charity's focus is children, young people, and communities who are disempowered, facing barriers, have mental health challenges and experiencing deprivation.

By working with Mortal Fools, young people develop their mental health and well-being, personal skills, and creativity, and some even go on to paid work in the creative sector.

Helen Ferguson, Creative Producer at Mortal Fools, said: "Mortal Fools is a truly special place that nurtures children and young people in an inclusive, open-access space.

"We've had the joy of watching children grow into young adults whilst equipping them with skills for life."

The charity recently redeveloped its MELVA theatre show into a creative, digital mental health education programme for primary schools.

MELVA is currently supporting over 15,000 children across more than a hundred schools amid the ongoing children's mental health crisis.

Helen added: "We are so thankful for the funding we have received today - it will play a vital role in ensuring we can keep supporting the lives of young people with the power of creative expression."

Other local organisations who have been awarded funding include:

• Full Circle Food Project - £40,000. Striving for everyone to have access to nutritious food by helping people and communities build healthy and sustainable lifestyles. They offer cooking and gardening programmes, as well as strategies to minimise waste and promote sustainability.

• YMCA Northumberland - £40,000. Providing a range of activities and youth programmes for young people across Northumberland, supporting and empowering them to thrive. Much of their current work benefits 12-18-year-olds living in Ashington and the surrounding areas.

• Escape Family Support Group - £40,000. Delivering a wide variety of services for carers and families of substance users in Northumberland. Support includes drop-ins, counselling, befriending, advocacy with judicial and social services and budgeting advice.

Good Causes Everywhere

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode International Trust. Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that work to alleviate poverty, hunger and enable food security. Benefitting charities include Mary's Meals, Action Against Hunger and British Red Cross.

With a minimum of 30% of each ticket price going to deserving projects, players of People's Postcode Lottery have now raised more than £1.4 billion for thousands of charities and good causes across Great Britain, as well as internationally.

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