South Shields Millionaire Street

A STUNNED mum told how she'll take her kids on a dream holiday before treating herself to a long-awaited honeymoon after winning a share of a £1 Million prize.

Ashley bagged £76,923 after spending just £24 since signing up two months ago.

Now the beauty therapy student and hubby Colin hope to find joy again after suffering family heartaches.

Ashley, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear, exclaimed, "Twenty-four pounds! Two months! This feels like a dream."

HGV driver Colin added, "We feel like such frauds. It really doesn't feel real."

Ashley shared the £1 Million pot with 10 neighbours in South Shields after NE33 4TH won our weekly Millionaire Street prize today.

Nine neighbours won £76,923 each with two others doubling their prize to £153,846 thanks to playing with two tickets.

Ashley was just about to leave her house to go to college when our Postcode Lottery team surprised her.

The mum-of-four, laughing and crying, said, "I'm shaking. We've got four kids. Two of them don't even own a passport and have never been on holiday before."

Happy hubby Colin said, "I can't believe it. I literally don't believe it. It just never happens.

"Ashley lost her dad last year and I lost mine a few years ago and we've just had a real run of bad luck."

The bubbly couple wed in 2021 when Covid restrictions were eased after Ashley received the heartbreaking news that her dad had been given just 12 months to live.

Ashley told how they'd never even gone on honeymoon after their low-key, post-pandemic wedding.

She said, "We literally went to the registry office and went to a local pub after. We were only allowed so many people. We've never been on our own other than our wedding night. We don't really have anyone for babysitting. We've both got our mums, but to take four kids is a big ask."

The couple haven't decided on a honeymoon destination yet - but after a tough few years for the family they intend on letting their son and three daughters choose their dream holiday.

Colin said, "If the kids want to go on an aeroplane anywhere, I'd think they'd want to go to the other side of the world.

"It's nice that we'll be able to do something for them. It's just beyond!"

Ashley added, "Our youngest, Zara, would die to go to Disneyland."

Ashley signed up after her friend, who lives in the neighbouring town of Boldon Colliery, scored a £1,000 cash win.

She said, "My friend Claire said that the Postcode Lottery didn't even contact her, and she just opened her mail, and it was like £1,000 through the door. And I was like, 'We need to sign up.'"

Astonished Ashley had ignored all our attempts to get in touch with her before our camera crew turned up at her door.

She said, "We tend not to answer emails and phone calls because it's usually people asking for money. It's not usually good people."

Ashley, who has a Bachelor's Degree in Children and Young People from Newcastle College, is training to be a beauty therapist to have more time to balance childcare.

She said, "I've always wanted to get into teaching but now that I've got four children, I needed something to do that works in with the kids. Being a beauty therapist means I can work around the kids instead of having to put them into breakfast club and after-school club."

The couple moved into Colin's childhood house on Hepscott Terrace when his mum decided to downsize following his dad's passing.

Colin said, "Our house looks a lot prettier than our lives have been.

"But it's water under the bridge now. This is sort of lovely and positive for the kids."

He added, "I've known many of the neighbours since the age of eight as I lived here as a kid. I've known many of them for years. It's brilliant that so many people have won."

Colin was another gobsmacked neighbour celebrating a £76,923 win.

The recently-retired grandad had deleted emails from us last week as he was convinced it was a hoax. And he was left flabbergasted when a camera crew turned up on his street.

He said, "I had two emails from Postcode Lottery and thought, 'No, this is a scam,' and deleted them.

"I drove back home, as I'd been swimming this morning, and then I saw the Postcode Lottery camera crew. It feels fantastic. I've just retired so it's a bonus."

Colin had been working at Siemens for over 39 years as a buyer until he retired this year.

The grandad-of-three said, "I worked at the same place all my life. It's came at a great time - happy days."

Colin already has a big holiday planned for his 60th birthday in September - a multicity US road trip.

He said, "We've got a big holiday to pay for, anyway. For my 60th we're going to San Francisco, then Napa Valley, Los Angeles, a cruise for a week, San Diego, Mexico."

Colin's partner Gwen said, "You are going to have to have a family treat.

Colin added, "We've got five children between us and five grandkids, we'll definitely treat them.

Along the street, Beth won the same whopping amount and she's now planning to take her daughters to Walt Disney World in Florida.

Mortgage broker Beth said she'd need to save for years to be able to jet off on a special US holiday.

She said, "Wow! This is just amazing.

"We've always said we'd like to take our youngest daughter to Florida and my oldest daughter too.

"But we were thinking, God we'll have to save for five years to do that. Now we'll definitely have a big family holiday soon."

Beth's husband James, who works as a Telecoms engineer, added, "We can maybe even stay in Disneyland instead of the cheaper option of staying outside the resort."

Helping Charities And Good Causes

Ashley has been signed up to Postcode Lottery for the shortest time, but a few of the winners have continually played for over 10 years. The winning neighbours all mentioned that an important reason for playing was to help charities and good causes.

Funding raised by players of People's Postcode Lottery has also given local charity Bright Futures a welcome £80,000 boost through Postcode Community Trust.

"We started with two laptops in a cafe so to receive funding like this is mind-blowing," said Co-Founder and Managing Director Nicola Whalen.

"We've supported over 50,000 young women and are now supporting 3,500 young women per year on average. This funding will have a profound impact on the amount of support we can give."

Founded in 2010 by Helen Bowman and Nicola Whalen, Bright Futures, is an award-winning charity known for its relentless efforts in supporting disadvantaged young people across South Tyneside.

The charity aims to tackle the biggest challenges young women face while growing up, including alcohol misuse, domestic abuse, unemployment, poor mental health and wellbeing, sexual abuse and exploitation.

Nicola added, "Empowering young, women is at the heart of what we do and that requires a holistic approach encompassing education, mental health support, employment support opportunities and leadership development.

"By investing in and expanding these areas thanks to the funding, we can create a more inclusive society where all individuals have the opportunity to thrive."

The charity's work also extends to policy advocacy, empowering young women to engage in social action. Its Can I Go To The Toilet campaign, which gained 5,000 signatures, encouraged local schools to give young women 'period passes' so they could be excused and visit the toilets whenever they need them.

Another charity receiving a funding boost of £80,000 is Hospitality & Hope. A leading food insecurity, homelessness, and community well-being charity in the area.

On the same day that winner Beth collected her winning cheque, her mum was volunteering at the charity.

Beth said, "My mum's just started volunteering for them as she's just retired. It's amazing to know so many local charities are getting help.

"It's a really good charity and a lot of people in South Shields depend on it. It's there for so many people."

Some of Hospitality & Hope's key activities include a wellbeing service, foodbank, a network of community shops, supported housing, and debt advice.

Other charities in the area which have benefited from a share in the Millionaire Street pot include:

• The Cultural Spring - £25,000 They provide cultural and community-based activities in South Tyneside and Sunderland including workshops, events and subsidised tickets to get more people into the arts. Their workshop programme includes activities such as singing, ceramics and photography.

• South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade - £10,000 The Brigade provides a search and rescue service to help people in distress on and around the coast, on a 24-hour call-out system. A highly trained team of volunteers work in conjunction with HM Coastguard and other emergency services.

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

Charities Everywhere

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Planet Trust (opens in a new tab). Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that work to protect and promote our environment and wildlife. Benefiting charities include WWF-UK, Marine Conservation Society and The Wildlife Trusts.

Our players are raising funds for charities and good causes across Britain and around the world. To date, People's Postcode Lottery players have raised more than £1.3 Billion for thousands of deserving projects and organisations. That support is changing lives and making a huge difference every single day.

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