Dream Win For Darwen

EXCITED neighbours in a street where Indian icon Gandhi once stayed turned the area into a party zone after winning a whopping £540,000 between them.

Eighteen residents in Darwen, Lancashire, scooped £30,000 each in our weekly Street Prize today. And some of the winners halted traffic as they celebrated on the road outside their homes.

One lucky player, Emma, summed up the mood: "It's amazing to win with our neighbours. We've all been talking to each other and it's really brought the street together.

"We're already quite close, everyone is so friendly. It's a really good neighbourhood and everyone looks out for each other, so it is incredible to share this win."

Incredibly, spiritual and political leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - known as Mahatma Gandhi - had stayed overnight at 3 Spring Vale Garden Village when he visited a local textile mill during a UK trip in September 1931. The event is marked with a blue plaque on the house.

Now the street - which is split into two different postcodes - is buzzing for a different reason after People's Postcode Lottery presenter Judie McCourt dished out winning cheques to the players.

Overjoyed Mark is planning a new gaming tattoo to celebrate his win. The dad-of-one already has a mural of artwork covering his right leg, including Pac-Man, Super Mario, Assassin's Creed, Fallout and Silent Hill.

Now he fancies getting Sonic the Hedgehog to please his two-year-old son - and may include the Postcode Lottery logo in the design.

The surface repair technician - who picked up his cheque alongside his NHS worker wife Michaela - said, "This is unbelievable. It's all I've been thinking about.

"I like gaming tattoos. I might get Sonic this time. My little boy loves that. Off the top of my head, I might also get the lottery logo in there. I'll tell the tattooist what I want and he'll do a good job."

He added, "We're also going to go on holiday in the winter when it's cold here."

Bubbly Denise revealed that one of her grandsons wants her to spend her new fortune on a bottle of juice.

The mum-of-three said, "One of my grandsons wants a bottle of PRIME WWE. We'll probably go on holiday, too. My grandchildren want to go to Florida."

Denise cuddled into fellow winner Emma, and hubby Chris, who is best mates with Denise's son.

Denise said, "It was amazing to win with everyone else. These two have been brilliant. We've been so excited texting and ringing each other."

Emma, who works in the family construction firm, and Chris are just back from their honeymoon on the Greek isle of Santorini after tying the knot last month.

Now the couple, who have two daughters, want to spruce up their end-terrace home.

Self-employed dryliner Chris said, "We'll get the garden done and the drive, and keep some money in the bank for a rainy day."

Emma added, "It's not every day that someone gives you £30,000."

Stunned Julie and hubby Carl each landed £30,000 and plan to extend their home to create room for their seven grandchildren and three dogs.

Full-time carer Julie said, "We'll get the house sorted out. We got an extension, but we still need more rooms. We've got four bedrooms but need more. We'll probably go up the way!"

HGV driver Carl said, "We had convinced ourselves that we'd just be winning £1,000."

Mum-of-one Emma shared the joy with warehouse operative partner Darren, then said, "We can use this to make memories."

Amputee Ross is planning to treat pals to a lads' holiday in Majorca later this year.

The vape firm worker said, "I've not been away this year. I might organise a lads' weekend in Majorca. They've treated me enough in the past, so it's probably my turn to treat them.

"I might also look into a new bathroom. I've been needing one of them for a couple of years."

He added, "It's fantastic to win with the neighbours. There's no jealousy because everyone has won."

Sheila found out she'd won when she and hubby Steve were filling up the car with petrol on a caravan holiday in Wales.

Sheila said, "We own a static caravan in Ruthin, Wales, and we were getting petrol when my phone rang when I went to pay."

The couple now plan to treat their family, and might get new wheels to navigate the narrow road to their caravan site.

Mum-of-one Sheila said, "It means we can treat the three grandchildren. The eldest granddaughter is getting married in October. The middle one just graduated and the third one graduates next year. There'll be a treat for them all."

She added, "We might treat ourselves to a better car."

Mum-of-three Yvonne said she needs to trade in her Ford Focus for a bigger car to accommodate her seven grandchildren.

The nursery childcare assistant said, "This means a lot. I've never won anything in my life.

"I need a new car. I've been looking and I don't know what to get - maybe a Nissan X-Trail."

At the bottom of the street, Neil revealed that his win came just weeks after signing up.

The electrician - who got engaged to hairdresser Hayley last March - said, "This feels great, fantastic.

"We just bought the house three months ago and started playing Postcode Lottery as soon as we moved in. I got a £10 prize the first month and now £30,000!"

A few houses up, mum-of-three Cathy said the cash will go towards holidays she already has lined up.

The mental health support worker is set to jet off to South Africa, the Greek isle of Lesbos for a friend's wedding, and go on a break with work pals to Benalmadena in Spain.

She said, "This will help towards the holidays. Hopefully, I might get on a Med cruise next year now. I'm still in a bit of shock."

Supporting Good Causes

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Global Trust. Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that are working to save lives and improve health care systems. Benefitting charities include Amref Health Africa UK, APOPO and Médecins Sans Frontières.

It's not just People's Postcode Lottery winners who benefit though. Our amazing players have raised more than £1.3 billion for thousands of good causes across Britain and around the world. 33% of the ticket price funds life-changing projects which make a difference to people and the planet. Find out more about the range of charities and good causes that our players support.

Want to know more about People's Postcode Lottery? Take a look at our How It Works page and check out all the fabulous Prizes our players can win every single month. Why not sign up to play today?