Nantymoel Millionaire Street

A STUNNED engineer is one of 11 people from a Welsh village to win a £1 Million lottery prize - and now he'll get his first passport and take his first-ever flight in first class.

Grant Williams is dreaming of adventures abroad with wife Katrina after bagging £83,333 with People's Postcode Lottery.

Born and bred in Nantymoel, Grant has never wandered too far from his beloved home, but now he's set to see the world.

And the dad-of-two, who was born in the front bedroom of his family house, thanked his late mum for 'playing a part' in his cash windfall.

Grant said: "This win means the world. I've never dreamt of winning this much money, it's hard to process.

"I've never been abroad, I've never been on a plane. I'm going to have to sort that out now and first class is even an option now. It's unbelievable. Life-changing."

Grant landed the windfall with 10 neighbours in Nantymoel after CF32 7SU won the lottery's weekly £1M Millionaire Street prize on Saturday 28 September. Every ticket was worth £83,333 with one winner doubling their prize to £166,666, thanks to playing with two tickets.

The Nantymoel neighbours' £1M win comes one year after players in the nearby village of Tonypandy won the same prize - when three people won £333,333 each on 23 September 2023.

Grant's win held even more significance due to winning at his family house on John Street, which was left to him by his late mum.

He said: "I was born in this house, in the front bedroom, 52 years ago, and I've never moved out.

"My mum worked really hard for me and my two sisters. She's definitely up there looking down."

Grant's wife Katrina who works in the NHS, couldn't believe their luck after landing the mega prize with their home postcode.

She said: "I'd like to think Grant's mum is looking down on us today.

"We won't be changing our address anytime soon. It's a lucky house."

Excited Katrina said the winnings will encourage the pair to travel and have fun.

She said: "I thought [the win] would pay for Christmas without going into my savings but this is all my Christmases in one."

She added: "My husband has to get a passport now. I've always wanted to see Italy, I love old buildings and I've got lots of romantic notions in my head."

And a few doors down, close friend Michaela Jones also bagged the same whopping amount.

The mum-of-two says a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia for the British & Irish Lions Tour is now possible.

She said: "It's felt like a dream. I was waiting for the rug to be pulled from underneath me, to be honest. Until I saw the camera crew, I didn't believe it.

"We were planning on going to Australia next year for the rugby, that might be back on the cards."

Michaela, who makes parachutes for a living, has fibromyalgia and made the decision to cut her hours to part-time recently.

She said: "Fibromyalgia affects my whole body and because the parachutes are heavy and I stand most of the day, I cut my hours back. Thankfully, my company have been brilliant with me, I can't wait to tell them.

"My work family at the factory will be over the moon. They've been checking on the Postcode Lottery website all week to try and suss out how much I might win."

Michaela and her groundworker husband Rob are planning on helping their 24-year daughter with house renovations and will all go to a Liverpool FC match.

The Jones family headed to the only pub in the village to celebrate with their neighbours.

Michaela, who is friends with the pub owner, said: "He's been ringing for ages saying, 'Come down and celebrate, the bubbly is on ice'."

Rebecca Banks broke down in tears after winning over £83K and said the windfall was hard to believe for 'the forgotten valley' village.

She said: "We are the forgotten valley as we don't have many amenities for anyone.

"The buzz on the street and around the whole place is just unreal.

"We've got a couple of small shops, the pub has only been open a couple of months, there's no supermarkets and the nearest is a 20-minute drive away. We don't have any petrol stations, nothing at all. So, for this to happen is just incredible."

Rebecca, who works for a credit union, said: "We can just enjoy life and have fun.

"We're going to Thailand next April, so we might make a few upgrades. And it's my 40th birthday in December, so now we could go on a nice weekend away."

Clare Cook is now set to go to the Maldives and live out her dream of staying at a private beach bungalow.

She said: "It's been my dream for years. I don't just want to go, I want to go and have a bungalow over the water. You've just got to do it properly, don't you."

The delighted gran, who has also stayed on the street her entire life, was delighted to win alongside her long-time friends and neighbours.

Clare said: "It's really nice that so many of us have won together. It's just a really lovely because there's so many people who have lived on this street for years and years and it's just made it even more special."

The Blaenogwr Hotel is set for a roaring trade as news of the £1M win had already spread around the town. The recently refurbished pub had bottles of bubbly on ice before the winners had even received their cash prizes.

One local said: "It's fabulous that people in our little town have won. I might not have won but we'll be celebrating with them."

The winning neighbours and the whole community were delighted to hear local charities are also benefiting from their win.

One of those charities is Bridgend Carers Centre and, thanks to players of People's Postcode Lottery, it's been awarded £50,000 by Postcode Community Trust.

The charity specialises in the provision of information, support and short break opportunities to thousands of unpaid carers throughout Bridgend County Borough.

Bridgend Carers Centre is run by a team of 15, many of whom have been carers or currently still have a caring role.

Staff are specially trained to support carers with a whole range of services which are focused on making a positive difference to carers' lives and have dedicated support services for Parent Carers through to Veteran Carers, Older Carers and those caring for loved ones with cancer.

Sarah Jarvis, CEO of Bridgend Carers Centre, said: "We are a lifeline to so many carers in our community but to be frank, the funding we have received today has been the lifeline we've been waiting for.

"We have been on the brink of ending our Parent Carer Support and Wellbeing Project and as a result, had to reduce our intake in this sector and move some of our staff around.

"£50,000 is going to enable us to renew the service, get the team back on track to support anyone caring for a young person or child with a disability."

The Parent Carer Support and Wellbeing Project provides full support to families like none other across South Wales and includes training and weekly meetups.

The service also includes The Wildflower Project, which helps autistic girls to bloom, along with their families, and saw Bridgend Carers Centre host a wildflower summer ball for all those who did not attend their own school prom or who could not enjoy it.

Sarah added: "The Parent Carer Support and Wellbeing Project is one our most used services, so the funding is truly going to have such a positive impact to the whole of Bridgend County.

"The funding will also allow us to support other parts of our service to ensure we keep supporting and serving unpaid carers across Bridgend."

Other local charities who have benefited from this week's Millionaire Street prize include:

• The Community Impact Initiative CIC - £50,000

The Community Impact Initiative C.I.C. (known as the Cii) is a not-for-profit social change organisation committed to the development, improvement, and sustainability of local communities.

• Tanio Ltd - £50,000

A community arts charity established during the miners' strike in South Wales in the early 1980s under the name Valley & Vale, the organisation has worked with countless people and communities using Community Arts as a vehicle for exploration and empowerment.

• Wyndham Boys & Girls Club - £10,000

The charity provides playing facilities, education and training, along with arts and culture, and environment conservation and heritage projects for all young people.

• The Ajuda Foundation - £10,000

A charity promoting positive mental health and wellbeing support, resources, information and training to community groups, schools, education establishments and individuals who are disadvantaged.

• Ogmore Valley Dragons Boxing Club - £5,000

A community boxing gym that runs daily group sessions for all ages.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust.

Supporting Good Causes

With People's Postcode Lottery, 33% of the ticket price goes to Charities. Our amazing players have raised more than £1.3 Billion for thousands of good causes.

Do you have your subscription to People's Postcode Lottery? If you aren't playing yet, check out How It Works and the wonderful Prizes that can be won. Why not sign up today and join the fun?

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. Benefiting charities include Action Against Hunger, ActionAid and British Red Cross.