Coleshill Millionaire Street

A GRATEFUL gran wants to hire out her local pub to celebrate a £250,000 lottery win - and has her fellow lottery-winning pals to thank for her windfall.

Beverley Hawkesford scooped the quarter of a million pound prize on People's Postcode Lottery, and she'll use the cash to splash out on parties, holidays, and her loved ones.

The retired receptionist and her hubby Andy are now planning to take over a local bar for the day to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.

Amazingly, Bev only signed up to play Postcode Lottery after her friends Emma and Lee won £60,000 during a Covid lockdown.

Andy, of Coleshill, Warwickshire, said: "We could hire a pub! Have a whole day in the pub. The beers are on us."

Bev added: "It's our 50th wedding anniversary in March, so we'll have a big party!

"We are not winners, honestly. We don't win ... well, I guess we are now."

Bev is one of four neighbours in the postcode B46 1BT to land our weekly Millionaire Street prize today. Each ticket was worth £250,000.

Initially, the couple both admitted that they'd misread the stunning sum.

Andy said: "I thought it was £25,000 and didn't even realise, and then I suddenly saw the other nought."

Bev added: "I thought, 'That comma is in the wrong place.' Lucky us!"

Another winning postcode in Coleshill, less than half a mile from Bev's address, paved the way for her bumper win.

Bev revealed that she'd started playing after her friends, married couple Lee and Emma Mellor, each won our £30,000 Street Prize in 2020.

Bev said: "I didn't know much about the Postcode Lottery apart from that our friends won, so I signed up for it. Our friends Lee and Emma, who live just down the road, won £30,000 each.

"After that, I signed up, but then I thought, 'That's silly because you're not going to get another lottery win on a B46 postcode,' and now here we are.

"I shall be texting her to say, 'Thank you very much, Emma.'"

Emma and Lee were among four people surprised by Judie McCourt over a video call when their postcode won our Street Prize back in May 2020.

And it was also Judie who surprised Bev and Andy at their home.

The kind-hearted couple, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on 27 March, are now making plans for the pub party.

Bev, who formerly worked at The Belfry Hotel, said: "We do have a big circle of friends, and we'd like to do something to get everyone together.

"We go to a pub on the crossroads. It's quite small, but Helen, the landlady of our little local, The Green Man, would not allow us to go elsewhere."

Andy teasingly said: "We could have one day at The Green Man and another day hiring out the Plough Inn. We will cover the bar bill."

Bev and Andy also told us how they'd treat themselves to a few sunny holidays.

Bev said: "We're going to Spain in a month, and then Crete in May, so we won't need to think about spending money.

"We're sun worshippers, and we'll definitely be going away for some sun."

The couple, who have two daughters and two granddaughters, recently had a few health scares and told us how they'd be living life to the fullest.

Bev said: "On Christmas Eve, a couple of years ago, I had a stroke, and although I'm okay now, I'm unable to drive as the stroke damaged my peripheral vision. Uber is my best friend now.

"And Andy just had a pacemaker fitted and was in Heartlands hospital for four days."

Andy, who worked as an Education Officer for Solihull Education Department before retiring and taking on a sales assistant job at HMV for 13 years, is a huge music fan and hopes to upgrade his record collection.

He said: "I can buy some more records now and I've got a lot of records in mind. In my basket, I have a Toots and the Maytals reggae record."

Bev jokingly quipped back: "Hang on! Whose ticket won again?"

They'll also spruce up their back garden with their blooming bank balance.

Bev said: "Our son-in-law is a landscape gardener, and we were planning to do the garden in the spring. There is no barrier to what we do now."

'Nana' Bev also couldn't wait to spoil granddaughters Sylvia and Olive.

Bev said: "We won't be allowed to treat them to much, I suppose, but then again, we can do what we like because we are grandparents. And I always say there is no rules in our house, and that's why they like coming to stay with us."

Bev was delighted to hear that local charities are benefitting from her win and by paying her lottery subscription every month.

Because her Coleshill postcode won our Millionaire Street prize, local charities have also received significant funding awards.

Social Life Opportunities (SoLO) was awarded £75,000 by Postcode Community Trust.

The charity supports children, young people, and adults with learning disabilities, empowering them to realise their full potential.

Over 500 individuals use SoLO's provisions, which are run by over 130 highly trained staff members and a team of dedicated volunteers.

Lesley Beer, Chief Executive Officer of Social Life Opportunities, said: "The funding we have received today is an absolute lifeline to our operations.

"Like many charities, we are in challenging times and constantly have to assess our spending.

"We have been in operation for over 24 years and, over time, have become a key pillar in many of our service users' lives.

"They rely heavily on us to be there for them."

SoLO provides tailored support through a variety of services and activities designed to empower and enrich lives.

"We are so thankful for the funding we have received as it means we can remain in a strong position for the year ahead, bolster our care programmes and keep our arms wide open to the community."

Lesley added: "From everyone here at SoLO - staff and service users - thank you so much to the players of People's Postcode Lottery. What we have been awarded today is absolutely critical for the charity, and we are beyond grateful."

Other local organisations who have been awarded funding include:

• Spitfire Advice and Support Services - £30,000 Providing a variety of support and information on issues including debt, employment, benefits and housing, particularly to those in isolated and excluded communities.

• Help Harry Help Others - £25,000 Helping to support local adults and children impacted by cancer, as well as their family and friends. They operate an informal drop-in cancer support centre established to be a home-from-home environment.

• Elayos - £15,000 Providing emotional and practical support through pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally. Offering no-cost doula services for vulnerable and isolated women and birthing people locally.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust.

Deserving Projects

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode International Trust. Supported by our players, this trust delivers grant funding to organisations that work to alleviate poverty, hunger and enable food security. Benefitting charities include Action Against Hunger, ActionAid and British Red Cross.

Players aren't the only ones who benefit from People's Postcode Lottery. 33% of the ticket price goes to charities and good causes. Thanks to our players, more than £1.4 billion has been raised for thousands of deserving projects around the world.

Not playing yet? Do you know about all the amazing Prizes our players can win? Learn about how People's Postcode Lottery works and sign up to play today.