Poole Millionaire Street

A HUMBLE mum has won £250,000 after a life-changing knock at the door - and now she's going to buy a new one.

NHS worker Amy was left in disbelief when our team knocked on her front door and presented her with a cheque for a quarter-of-a-million pounds.

An astonished Amy said, "Oh my goodness! Is this a dream? I told myself it might be ten, twenty, thirty maybe... I never expected six figures.

"I'd really like a new front door."

Now the personal assistant at Poole Hospital wants to spend her winnings on a family campervan and will visit her brother, who lives in California.

Amy shared the weekly £1m prize with two neighbours in Poole, Dorset, after BH12 4LF was announced as the latest winner of our Millionaire Street prize today.

Every ticket was worth £250,000 but one resident, who played with two tickets, doubled their haul to half-a-million pounds.

Amy, who works in a maternity ward, said their win could help speed up the completion of an extension to her and husband Tom's home.

Tom, who works as an electrician, has been using his spare time to work on the extension in between his day job. But now the couple are hoping to use some of the winnings to complete the renovation sooner and spend more time together as a family.

Amy said, "We did talk about a campervan. Maybe that would be something we'd look at just so we can go off odd weekends with our little boy somewhere and have a bit of a break from the extension, which might be finished."

The mum-of-one would love to take her young family over to visit her brother, who lives southeast of Los Angeles, in Mission Viejo.

She said, "I think we might plan a trip to California. We saw my brother last year when he came back to the UK for our wedding, so it's our turn to go there.

"We've not taken our little boy out yet. We went before he was born but we'd love to go back and spend some time with them."

The family also have future holidays on their minds, with Amy admitting they're spoiled for choice now.

On further travel plans, she said, "A little holiday definitely. Maybe a family holiday and a fun holiday for our son."

Along the road, Brian and his wife Chris were also celebrating after Brian won £250,000 with his ticket.

Upon hearing the news, Brian exclaimed, "I feel absolutely stunned - quarter of a millionaire!"

Chris gasped, "No! Oh my god. Is that really real?"

Brian is now set to splash out on his dream car. He said, "I've always wanted a Range Rover, so I will be getting myself one. I'm not quite sure what type or where, but I'll definitely be getting a Range Rover."

Retired care home manager Chris added, "But the first thing will be a holiday to relax and think about what we're going to do with it."

The pair share five children between them, ranging in age from 29 to 37, who they also hope to help out.

Having been together for 17 years, the couple have been through a rough couple of years after Brian was hospitalised with pneumonia and a severe second bout of Covid.

Brian, who runs his own training company, spent weeks in and out of hospital and was in intensive care for ten days before developing sepsis.

Thankfully, he recovered and the couple are now looking ahead to the future.

The grafter was still keen to head back to work after learning of his win but added, "I might just sit and have a cup of coffee and take it on board."

Now Brian and Chris want to plan more holidays.

And one of Brian's sons can even assist with holiday planning. Brian said, "My middle son works for Virgin Airlines so I should be taking some advice off him."

The couple are now planning an unforgettable safari experience in South Africa after Chris added that it's always been on her bucket list.

She said, "What I really, really, want to do is a safari. I'd love a safari."

Chris also added that if Brian gets his longed-for Range Rover, she could treat herself to a relaxing spa weekend.

She said, "I might take a friend to the spa for a weekend spa break."

Amy and Brian decided to start playing to support charities and were delighted to learn that local charities have also benefitted from their Millionaire Street win.

Amy said, "There's so many good causes and you can't pay to all of them individually so doing something like [Postcode Lottery] means that it gets spread between different charities all the time."

And one organisation, Poole Communities Trust, has been awarded £70,000 by Postcode Community Trust.

The charity runs three major projects across Poole including the Bourne Community Hub, Branksome Community Centre and Turlin Moor.

The projects provide a mixture of support services including affordable food shops, hot meal options, as well as skill-building workshops and activities to stay fit.

Chief Officer at Poole Communities Trust, Hannah Baker, said, "Today's funding is absolutely incredible - we're going to put some towards our priority services as well as a new skate park in the Turlin Moor area.

"We started the community food shop at Bourne Community Hub in 2022 and have seen the number of families that use it grow steadily since then."

The community shop allows shoppers to buy ten items of shopping for £3, and it sees dozens of families come through the doors each week.

Hannah added, "We don't pre-pack the baskets to allow shoppers to get what they actually need, as we know every family's needs are different.

"We also make sure we always have plenty of high-value items on the shelves, which means families can get a bottle of cooking oil or box of cereal for just 30 pence."

The hub also runs a community cafe, where anyone can get a healthy hot meal and drink for just £1.

Other local organisations who have been awarded funding include:

• People First Forum - £50,000 A self-advocacy charity supporting people with learning disabilities to live their lives in their chosen way. Services include advice and information, as well as groups and events.

• Hope for Food - £30,000 Helping people locally who are experiencing poverty or homelessness. They provide food parcels, as well as clothing, bedding, household goods and personal hygiene products.

• Dorset Parent Infant Partnership (DorPIP) - £30,000 DorPIP helps to secure parent-infant relationships during the first few years of a baby's life. They offer a variety of support including specialised talking therapy and infant massage classes.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust.

Charities Win Too

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

With People's Postcode Lottery, 33% of the ticket price goes to amazing charities and good causes around the world. Our players have raised more than £1.3 billion so far.

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