East Kilbride Millionaire Street

A champion budgie breeder is in a flap after winning £407,032 and wants to use the nest egg to buy a new bird.

Gerry said he'll shell out on the breeding budgie - known as an outcross - to improve the quality of his 120-strong flock.

The grandad - who won the prestigious best-in-show award for the second time at the last Scottish Budgerigar Society Area Show in 2022 - said, "I used to breed budgies years ago, but family commitments got in the road.

"I got back into it about five years ago and I've maybe got about 120 birds at the moment.

"I could buy a certain bird to enhance the ones I've got. Bring new blood into the shed to improve the quality of the birds."

Gerry, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, bagged £407,032 after G75 0DH was the winner of our weekly Millionaire Street prize today. The rest of the £1 Million pot was shared by players in the wider G75 0 postcode sector.

There were 493 players with a single ticket who each won £947, and 55 players with two tickets who each won £1,894. Five players with three tickets each won £2,841, and two winners with four tickets each won £3,788.

A Bird In The Hand

The builder and roofer, who runs a property maintenance firm with brothers Martin and Michael, was stunned when Presenter Matt Johnson revealed his cheque.

But he said he was going straight back to work and wouldn't be having a night on the tiles.

He said, "I'm shocked. I don't know what else I'll do with it. I never thought I'd get this amount of money.

"Even though I've won this, I'll still have to go to work this afternoon. I've got scaffold up on a job just now for a roof repair. The customer is away on holiday and is expecting the job to be finished when they get back.

He added, "I don't drink, but we'll go out for a meal to celebrate.

"We haven't been on holiday for a number of years, maybe just a day here and there. We might go to Spain now."

The dad-of-two revealed he won a classic Ford RS2000 in a competition last year and opted to take the £19,000 cash equivalent instead.

But he was convinced his Postcode Lottery prize wouldn't be any more than £250 after a cousin landed that amount a few years ago.

He said, "I didn't expect this. I thought it would be £200 or £250. I only got about two hours sleep last night thinking about it."

Gerry broke the news to his wife Christine who was at an appointment during the presentation. Now the couple plans to help their son Marc, daughter Marie and four grandchildren.

He said, "It will be nice to be able to help the family. Family comes first at the end of the day. As long as they're okay and healthy."

Gerry revealed part of the reason he signed up for Postcode Lottery was to ensure he was regularly donating to charity. He said, "It's nice to give something back."

And because he won, a charity in his area has benefited from the Millionaire Street prize pot.

Community At Heart

East Kilbride-based Achieve More Scotland has been awarded £50,000 from Postcode Community Trust (opens in a new tab).

The charity delivers free programmes to improve young people's physical and mental health. They run sports, physical activity, employability coaching and personal development sessions throughout schools and communities in areas of high social deprivation in the Glasgow region.

Paul Fletcher, CEO of Achieve More Scotland, said, "Community support and action is at the heart of everything we do and the money we've received from vital funding raised by the players of People's Postcode Lottery will go directly to helping disadvantaged young people throughout Glasgow."

Achieve More Scotland coaches 3,500+ young people and children a week as well as offering free holiday clubs over school breaks. In 2023 alone, the charity distributed 40,000 free breakfasts and lunches to young members of the community attending their holiday clubs.

Paul said, "To be in a position where we can take the added financial and logistical stress of childcare away from hardworking parents is a responsibility we don't take lightly."

He added. "It's a huge financial injection we've received today that will massively benefit young people and their parents."

Deserving 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.

Lucky winners aren't the only ones who benefit from People's Postcode Lottery. With 33% of the ticket price going to charities and good causes, our amazing players have raised more than £1.2 Billion for thousands of deserving causes to date.

With fabulous Prizes announced every single day, it's a great time to become a People's Postcode Lottery player. Take a look at How It Works and, if you're feeling lucky, sign up to play.