Warrington Millionaire Street

A stunned couple have scooped a share of our £1 Million Millionaire Street prize just hours after arriving back from a Spanish holiday - and the family who used to own their house have also won big.

The winning Warrington postcode, WA5 3FA, saw 18 neighbours win £31,250 and another 7 people double their prizes to £62,500 as they played with two tickets.

Leah and husband Matthew were left in disbelief when our People's Postcode Lottery team knocked on their door with a £31,250 surprise - after getting home at 2AM.

The pair's big win comes after a string of bad luck which included a broken arm, a cancelled holiday, gallbladder removal and nose surgery.

Shell-Shocked

Mum-of-three Leah was in the middle of baking a cake and putting on washing after returning from their last-minute holiday, before we caught her off guard in her pyjamas.

Leah said, "I was completely shocked. I was baking a cake for my grandad's 80th birthday, Matthew was about to go on a work call, and there was washing going galore.

"We got a knock on the door, and I felt like I was dreaming. It was the surprise of our lives."

Leah, who works as a consultant for an insurance company, said, "We booked a holiday to Fuerteventura really last minute because we've had a mad couple of months - three of us have been in hospital for operations.

"My son fell off a bouncy castle and snapped both bones in his forearm and had to have two surgeries, he's got metal rods in his arm, and he's got another surgery to come."

She added, "I had surgery two weeks ago to take my gallbladder out and Matthew had nose surgery before that."

The couple admitted they booked the holiday to the Canary Island on a whim to cheer themselves up - and even had to wait until the doctor gave Leah the green light to go.

Matthew said, "Last minute is not usually like us, I like to plan out everything, but I just said we should go because the whole family needed a break.

"After such an ordeal with all of our operations, we needed something to lift us up."

Leah added, "We booked it last Tuesday - a day before we left - and the doctor had only just taken the staples out from my tummy. I asked if I could go on holiday, and he said it was totally fine."

Now the family are planning another holiday to Florida. Leah said, "We were lucky enough to go to Florida last year and we thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime, but we loved it so much it can be twice-in-a-lifetime holiday now."

House Of Wins

Ann also picked up a £31,250 prize, despite not living on the winning street for over six years.

Yet she has a special connection to Leah and Matthew's house after living there for over 20 years before selling it to them.

She said, "We moved six years ago, and we kept playing with our old postcode and our new one."

Ann and husband Joe now plan to celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary in style and intend to treat their big family made up of four children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Leah said, "It's mad that they've won too! I didn't even know you could play with a different postcode from where you're currently living.

"I'm made-up that they've won, and it was amazing to see them six years after we bought their house."

Over The Moon

It was a day to remember for Susan and Colin, too, who each pocketed £31,250 after learning their daughter is expecting her first child.

Susan was taken by surprise when we knocked on her door with a golden envelope while husband Colin was at a doctor's appointment.

Upon seeing her cheque, she exclaimed, "Oh my God, help me, I'm having kittens!"

Managing to keep her own win a secret until Colin came home, the couple were able to celebrate together.

Colin said, "We've had some more good news today as well. Our daughter has just told us she's having a baby.

"I thought we'll never be grandparents. I always wanted to be a grandparent but now it's come true."

Susan added, "I'm feeling over the moon. I could climb Mount Everest."

Following a tough year, with Colin being diagnosed with prostate cancer, the news has arrived on a much happier day for the couple.

Colin believes Susan's mother, who they light a candle for every year on her birthday, may have had a helping hand in the couple's incredible day. He said, "It's her mother's birthday. It's uncanny. She must have done this."

The retired couple, whose love story stretches over 45 years, first met in Susan's native South Africa.

Colin said, "I was working in South Africa for a couple of years. I was due to come home and the hotel I was stopping in, in Johannesburg, had an apartment."

Colin saw Susan working at the hotel reception and was completely smitten. Soon after he told her he'd buy her a ticket to come back to England. Twelve weeks after their first meeting, the couple were married.

The couple are now planning to extend their upcoming holiday to celebrate. Colin said, "We're booking an extra week in Benidorm now."

Benefiting Charities

Following the neighbours' Millionaire Street prize wins, nearby charities will also benefit.

A combined total of £1 Million will be shared between local charities in the winning Millionaire Street areas as part of November's Postcode Lottery draws.

Warrington Mencap, a Northwest-based charity that enables adults with Learning Disabilities to live as independent life as possible, was awarded their biggest single funding amount of £60,000.

The independent charity looks after 20 residents with learning disabilities aged between 40 and 70 years old.

Founded over 40 years ago, the charity provides supported housing including three bungalows and three large houses, outdoor garden spaces and frequently runs social events for residents such as bowling, gardening, football and trips abroad. Warrington Mencap also provides support with social group care and assists in important life skills such as gaining employment.

Nikki Cotter, Assistant Manager at Warrington Mencap, said, "To receive an amount like this is huge for us - it's the biggest funding we have ever received. The money will ensure our facilities can remain accessible and our service users are in a safe space regardless of their abilities means so much to us.

"Thank you to the players of the People's Postcode Lottery."

Other local charities receiving funding thanks to Saturday's Millionaire Street prize win include:

• PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide - £50,000 PAPYRUS is dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people. It provides a suicide prevention helpline, HOPELINE247, and also delivers suicide prevention education and training to create suicide-safer communities across the UK.

• The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation - £50,000 The charity works across the UK and internationally in preventing, resolving and responding to extreme conflict. The Foundation was established created to provide peaceful alternatives to the use of violence in conflict situations.

• Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (Cheshire and Merseyside) - £70,000 RASASC is a charity committed to supporting people who have been affected by rape or sexual abuse. It provides free community-based support that is tailored towards the needs of people affected by sexual violence.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Neighbourhood Trust (opens in a new tab).

Thousands Of Supported Projects

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Education Trust (opens in a new tab). Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that provide education, particularly in emergency situations. Benefiting charities include AfriKids, War Child and Save the Children.

With 33% of the ticket price going to Charities, our players have now raised more than £1.2 Billion for good causes across Great Britain and internationally. People's Postcode Lottery players have funded thousands of deserving projects protecting people and the planet.

Have you signed up to play yet? Take a look at all the amazing Prizes our players can win. If you aren't sure how to join the fun, find out How It Works. It's really easy to sign up and play.