Keighley Millionaire Street

A STUNNED postwoman won a share of £1 million in a special delivery from People's Postcode Lottery, then declared: "It's definitely the best envelope I've ever had."

Melanie Granger has delivered thousands of envelopes over her 25-year Royal Mail career, but now she's received one containing £111,111.

Amazingly, Melanie has even pushed golden envelopes through letterboxes of previous Postcode Lottery winners on her route nearby.

Now she's planning on delivering herself to the Caribbean and America, and will ditch her 10-year-old iPad for the latest model.

Melanie, of Keighley, West Yorkshire, said: "It's definitely the best envelope I've ever had. It's just amazing. I can't quite believe that it's happened. It feels really strange that I'm on the receiving end.

"As a postie, I know how many postcodes are in the country, and there's that many you just think it'll never happen.

"But a few years ago I did deliver golden envelopes to one of the streets on my round. And I remember how nice it was to deliver it to them - and today it's me."

Melanie landed the whopping windfall with eight neighbours in Shann Crescent after their postcode BD21 2TN bagged our weekly Millionaire Street prize today. Every ticket in the winning postcode was worth £111,111.

Melanie, who had taken the day off from her usual postal duties, said: "Everything has come together. I'm normally working, and I've picked the right day for my day off.

"Now I've got a gold envelope, and it's a really big envelope with a huge cheque."

Back in July 2020, the kind-hearted postie was delighted to deliver golden envelopes, each containing a £1,000 cheque, to five houses on her usual postal route in nearby Hellifield.

Melanie said: "I found out that the golden letters I'd posted contained a £1,000 cheque from Postcode Lottery and it was such a nice feeling to deliver them the good news.

"Not for a moment did I ever think I'd win, but I continued playing because I wanted to support charities."

She added: "I like my job, I like being outdoors, and the customers that I deliver to are really nice. You get to know them and it's nice to be able to look in on the older ones."

Melanie, who works out of Royal Mail's Skipton Delivery Office, now intends to explore more of the Caribbean after loving the pristine white sandy beaches and crystal-clear turquoise waters on her first visit.

She said: "I went last year, and I'd like to go again and maybe stay somewhere different. It will be amazing, especially to go in the winter because it breaks up the colder, dark nights.

"I like New York too so I'd probably go there again. So, that's another holiday booked and ticked off the list."

Melanie plans to kick-off her winning party in style while celebrating her cousin's marriage in Spain.

She said: "My cousin, who lives in London, is getting married to his Spanish fiancée in Granada and I'm going to the wedding. It'll be a very good party, that's for sure."

Before Melanie heads for southern Spain, she intends to treat herself to a modest tech purchase.

She said: "I'm just going to get a new iPad. It might not be the most extravagant purchase, but it's a dear enough expense.

"And I bought a new car not long ago. I was lucky enough to pay for it, and the rest can go back into my coffers, can't it?"

A few doors down, Michael Whitaker will soon plan a Scandinavian motorbike adventure after scoring £111,111.

Michael, who has scuba dived all over the UK, is now revving up for a once-in-a-lifetime tour from his hometown to the Norwegian Fjords.

And the adrenaline junkie's heart was pumping when he caught a glimpse of his winning cheque.

He said: "When I saw the cheque, I thought £11,000 and then... I processed it and there was six digits! It's incredible.

"I want to go more adventuring. I want to get out there, I want to see places, I want to go places."

He added: "You have dreams but they're not dreams anymore now. This brings them into reality."

Michael will ride his Triumph Tiger 900 on the road trip. He said: "I've got to an age where I want to see more, and I recently bought the motorbike to go adventure riding.

"I'd love to go to Norway and Sweden. Just go and not have anywhere booked and see where I end up.

"I've done a lot of things and seen a lot of things that nobody's seen, and I want to carry on doing that and push myself more."

Michael, a clerk of works building inspector, had asked his boss if he could miss a work meeting when a camera crew turned up at his door.

He said: "I rang my boss and told her Postcode Lottery are here. But I had a design and compliance finance meeting at 11am and I had all the figures.

"Luckily, my boss was ecstatic for me and said she wouldn't tell anyone in the meeting as to why I couldn't make it."

He added: "I'm going to ring my boss up and apologise that I didn't make the meeting, but look at this!"

Michael was joined by his pal Peter when he received his huge windfall. Peter, who was a member of a scuba diving club with Michael, said: "I'm chuffed for him. I was more excited for Michael than he was."

Across the street, Sanna Babar also bagged the same stunning sum and is now planning a major holiday upgrade - from Disneyland Paris to Walt Disney World.

She said: "We were thinking of going to Disneyland Paris in August next year, but it could be Florida now!"

Sanna and hubby Tahir Mehmood will surprise their two daughters with the once-in-a-lifetime holiday.

She said: "I was trying to save up money, but I don't need to do that now and I could bring my mum and dad too. It was a sort of fantasy before, but I'm going to do it."

Sanna was left in sheer disbelief when her cash prize was revealed. She gasped and said: "Wowee! That's not real. Oh my God, is this real?"

And she said her £111,111 win was 'meant to be' as she'll soon celebrate her birthday - and admitted the celebrations have now gone up a notch.

She exclaimed: "I'm going out-out! I was going to go to Bradford, but I think I can go a bit further than that now."

Sanna excitedly added: "I can't wait to ring my mum and give her the same feeling that I have right now."

All the winners said they signed up to help charities and were thrilled to hear that local organisations have received funding as a result of their win.

And one of them, Keighley Healthy Living, has been awarded £80,000 by Postcode Community Trust.

The charity provides a variety of groups and services that are accessible to anyone in the local community looking to improve their health and wellbeing, create new friendships and learn new skills.

Melanie Hey, CEO of Keighley Healthy Living, said: "When we received the call about the funding, we just couldn't believe it. Not only because £80,000 is a phenomenal amount of money, but because it's been granted to us at the perfect time.

"Our volunteer Richard is a perfect example of the impact our charity has on the community. Richard was referred to the charity four years ago due to several health implications which meant he had no reason to get out of bed.

"Richard is now thriving both mentally and physically and, because of the impact we had on his life, he is now one of our dedicated volunteers who wants to help others who may be in a similar situation."

From exercise classes, singing groups and a games café, to support for young parents and those with mental health conditions, Keighley Healthy Living strives to create a strong, connected and thriving community.

Melanie added: "We deliver over 40 classes a week and have approximately 5,000 users through the door each year.

"We provide vital care for so many, so the funding we've received enables us to continue these groups and support the community when they need us most."

Other local charities who have benefitted from this week's Millionaire Street prize include:

• The Good Shepherd Centre - £30,000 Helping to support socially and economically disadvantaged people in the local area from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Services include a parent and toddler group, a mental wellbeing support group, and a variety of free courses such as English language classes.

• Roshni Ghar - £30,000 A mental health and wellbeing charity with a focus on women within the South Asian community. Culturally sensitive counselling, a young people's group and mental health and wellbeing support are some of the services offered.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust.

Thousands Of Deserving Projects

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Education Trust. Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that provide education, particularly in emergency situations. Benefitting charities include Save the Children, Theirworld and UNICEF UK.

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