Canterbury Millionaire Street

A TEACHER won £333,333 on People's Postcode Lottery after his mother-in-law had a recurring dream about the number three.

James Kitch refused to look at his bumper cheque as his partner's stunned mum, Dee Collins, started weeping with shock.

Dee then revealed she had woken up at 3.33am for the previous three nights after dreaming about threes.

James, of Canterbury, Kent, said: "Yesterday, my partner and I were sitting, and she asked how much I thought I'd won.

"She asked me to give her a number, and I said I thought it was going to have a three in it. She said that was really weird because her mum kept dreaming of threes. It is just incredible."

Retired chef Dee said: "James thought there was going to be a three in it. Straight away, I said it would be all threes. I've been waking up at 3.33am three mornings running. I can't believe there are that many threes."

James laughed: "I think my mother-in-law and I might need an exorcism."

The dad-of-one was one of three neighbours in Canterbury to share £1m after CT2 7BA bagged our weekly Millionaire Street prize today. Every winning ticket was worth £333,333.

James only knew he was in for a big prize by watching Dee and his daughter Greta's reactions because he couldn't look at his cheque.

After he finally relented and sneaked a peek at his winnings, he said: "You are kidding me. Is this real? You're not like a bogus gasman that's come round my house?

"It's insane. I might have to sit down - in the pub! I'm quite gobby and not often lost for words, but this is life-changing. I feel utterly blown away. I've never had anything like this in my life."

Now James - who teaches English and Forest School - said he and child counsellor fiancée Donna Richardson will have big plans for the cash.

They include home improvements - like solar panels and a wood burner - holidays, replacing his broken glasses, training for their jobs and possibly buying land to set up his own Forest School.

He said: "We've always said that if we win money, we want to do more training so we can improve what we currently do.

"I'm not one of these money-driven people. My biggest pleasure is just going into school and seeing the kids having a good day, especially the ones who are really struggling.

"If you go in with a smile and a bit of patience, you'll have a good day. If you go in in a bad mood, you'll have a bad day.

"I really struggled at school and can relate to how they feel. Knowing they've had a really good day is a million dollars for me.

"In saying that, this is an incredible thing to have. It definitely won't be frittered away, and I'll definitely be giving some money to charity."

He added: "One of my dreams is to buy a bit of land and set up a Forest School for special educational needs children."

James broke the happy news to Donna in a phone call at her work. She said: "Wait till I go and tell the girls at work. They're literally going to be screaming."

Now James will whisk Donna off to celebrate her birthday.

He said: "She'd like to go to Disney in Paris for her 50th birthday.

"I really want to go to Madeira. I've seen videos of the 'European Hawaii'."

He added: "There will definitely be a bit of Merlot - I'm very fond of a glass of Merlot - and we'll go out for dinner tonight."

Across the cul-de-sac, grieving Karen Cusden was left in shock after picking up £333,333 - the day after she sadly buried her father.

Karen fought back tears as she held her cheque and then credited her late dad for the win - before revealing she would visit his grave later in the day to lay flowers and a thank-you note.

She said: "My dad passed away about four weeks ago. I think he has sent me this money. I know he has. I feel he has given me a little gift. This is unbelievable. He would be saying, 'Well done, I can't believe it.' He would be very happy for me. Very!"

Husband Mark said: "She's a great believer in that sort of thing. When the numbers were being churned over, he was there somewhere."

Poorly Robert Holmes - who died after battling cancer and pneumonia - had played Postcode Lottery since it began. His wife Rose then signed up - followed by winning daughter Karen.

She said: "It feels surreal, to be honest. Since we got the phone call, we've been in a bit of a daze. We didn't know how much it was going to be. We had the funeral yesterday and my mind was on that.

"My dad did the Postcode Lottery since it started. He won the odd tenner, but he never won the big one."

She added: "I'm going up to my dad's grave later to put some flowers down and maybe a little note thanking him. Yesterday was horrible - very gloomy. Today the sun is shining."

Karen's chef son Dan Wenham said: "It was the saddest day yesterday and one of the happiest days of our lives today. Especially in Mum's life anyway. This doesn't happen to our family. This is grandad's parting gift."

Mum Rose Holmes said: "This is such a nice thing to have happened. It has been such a roller-coaster with his funeral, and now this happening. Robert would be saying, 'That's bloody good.'"

Dan said: "Grandad would be saying, 'Make sure you put that in the bank, invest it and don't spend it all at once.'"

Karen's daughter, Hannah Cusden, added: "It's grandad's little gift."

School domestic Karen - who has four children, four stepchildren and 15 grandchildren - now has a spending wishlist that includes holidays, new wheels, and handbags.

She said: "That is a lot of money. I didn't expect that. I'm very shocked. It means everything - it's life-changing, it really is.

"It's going to buy a lot of handbags. I do like a handbag or two. I'd like a Louis Vuitton bag, but that is extravagant.

"We're going on a Med cruise next year, so we'll maybe upgrade that. We've booked it for August next year. It's something I've always wanted to do."

Before the cruise, Karen and Mark will take her mum, Rose, on a caravan holiday to their favourite spot in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Former antique furniture restorer Mark said: "We'll upgrade the caravan at Great Yarmouth. Rose hasn't been on holiday for a long time, so we'll take her with us. We always go to Great Yarmouth."

He added: "Before we knew how much we'd won, I was saying that whatever happens we have a good life. It doesn't need to be massive. We have good kids and grandkids. We don't want things to change too much.

"I've got a feeling that, come tomorrow, we'll wake up, and everything will be a dream, and you people didn't come round."

The neighbours all signed up for Postcode Lottery to support local, national and international charities.

Now their win has meant a string of charities in and around Canterbury will benefit from vital funding.

One organisation - Canterbury-based homeless charity Catching Lives - has received £50,000 from Postcode Community Trust, supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.

Catching Lives provides essential services for people experiencing homelessness in Canterbury and East Kent.

From supplying basic necessities, such as hot meals and showers, to offering individual support with housing and working with partner organisations to help people find a route off the streets, Catching Lives delivers life-changing care.

The funding will help the charity improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness, from supporting their health and working with partners to get addiction recovery support to helping people apply for jobs and housing.

Tasmin Maitland, Chief Executive of Catching Lives, said: "This money comes at a crucial time when we see ever-increasing demand for our vital services."

The charity supports over 500 people a year experiencing homelessness, with an estimated 31 people sleeping rough on the streets of Canterbury each night of the year.

Tasmin added: "The amount we've received today will help us provide stability and care to some of the most vulnerable members of our society, ensuring people experiencing homelessness have the support and resources they need to help rebuild their lives.

"There is a stigma around homelessness that we seek to challenge - many people don't realise how common the risks of homelessness are and how quickly it can happen for people of all ages and from all walks of life."

Supporting Good Causes

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Community Trust. Supported by our players, this trust supports smaller charities and good causes in Wales to make a difference to their community for the benefit of people and planet.

With People's Postcode Lottery, a minimum of 30% of each ticket price goes to Charities. Our amazing players have raised more than £1.4 billion for thousands of good causes.

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