Market Weighton Windfalls

A DOG GROOMER can now pursue her dream of running a dog grooming salon thanks to winning a share of £3.2m on People's Postcode Lottery.

Gill Grose moved house three months ago. But she made the shrewd decision to keep one of her tickets at her old postcode and has bagged herself a cheque for £87,400.

Now the self-proclaimed 'Gill-of-all-trades' says she'll use some of the cash to set up her dog grooming business from home.

She said: "I thought I'd leave this [postcode] for a year just in case. It's going to get 'Daft as a Brush' going - it just means everything!"

Gill's close friend and former neighbour, Jean Phillips, won the biggest individual share of the prize pot - a whopping £252,630 - thanks to playing with three tickets.

Both players were among sixteen winners to collect the top prizes after their postcode, YO43 3NR, was announced today as the full winning postcode of our Postcode Millions prize in Market Weighton, Yorkshire. Each ticket on Walkington Drive was worth £84,210.

A further 894 cheques, ranging from £1,595 to £4,785, were won in the postcode sector of YO43 3, depending on the number of tickets played with.

It means Gill, who plays with two tickets at her new address in YO43 3, bagged an additional £3,190.

Gill said: "I've started my business properly in January. And there's a company down in Kent somewhere that does groom pods, and it's like a Portakabin, but it's got everything in it fully equipped - wash-down and everything - and they just crane it into your drive.

"This will help me set it up from home now because I'm temporarily in kennels working there."

The ladies became firm friends after Gill moved onto Jean's street eight years ago but it was Jean's border collie, Moss, who really helped the pair to bond.

Gill said: "It was when she got Moss that I really got to know her. As soon as she walked up the road with a little fluff ball, that was me gone."

She even credits the loveable pooch with helping her retrain and pursue her passion for dogs after she left her previous job as an investment finance manager in June 2023.

Gill completed canine behaviour and dog training, using Moss as her assessment dog, while also undertaking dog grooming courses.

Hardworking Gill admits she's always kept busy and has completed a variety of courses over the years.

She added: "I'm a Gill-of-all-trades. I just kept going to night school. I keep going because I just want to learn.

"I've been a postman, I've been a street lighting technician, I've been a purchase ledger manager, I've been a breakfast waitress, I've been an investment finance manager, and now I'm a dog groomer."

Triple-ticket winner Jean Phillips was thrilled to share the unforgettable moment with her pal as she opened three envelopes to reveal her stunning £252,630 win.

But both winners played second fiddle to furry bundle of fun Moss, who stole the show during the big reveal in Market Weighton.

As the four-year-old collie performed for the cameras, Jean couldn't wait to take him on a long walk to celebrate her stunning win.

She said: "I walk him about five miles a day and do about 13,000 steps. He's brilliant off his lead and his recall is amazing.

"He's doing really well today with all these people - he is a real poser."

"Gill has worked wonders with him. He was a blank page when I got him. And he is really well-trained now.

"It is just wonderful to share this moment with Gill. She's great, and I'm delighted for her too."

Describing the moment Jean opened the envelopes to reveal her spectacular win, she beamed: "I am staggered - it's life-changing and quite difficult to process.

"I didn't have a figure in my head and thought that anything would be nice.

"I did think something like £25,000 would have been lovely because that would have covered everything, but this is absolutely marvellous and it will take a bit of time to process."

Meanwhile, Jean also dedicated her win to her late mum, Lillian, who reached the grand old age of 100.

Lillian lived with Jean until she passed away in December 2016, just six months after she received a special birthday card from the Queen to mark the incredible milestone.

The retired school administrator and events organiser said she was excited to share the news with her brothers David and Duncan.

She said: "David lives in Durham and Duncan lives in Hereford - ten years between them and I'm in the middle."

On potential treats for herself, she said: "I'm not a holiday person. I play bowls and go away for a week to the national finals in Lincoln and Skegness."

Jean, who will become National President of the English Women's Bowling Federation next year for the second time, has had to give up playing in recent months as she waits for replacement hip and knee ops.

She revealed: "I'm on a list so hopefully I can jump it a little bit. It's stopping me doing a lot of things I want to do and the bowls season starts in April. I know it won't be done in time for that but hopefully midway through so I can play a little bit."

She said the win has come at just the right time as she prepares to take on the top post again.

She explained: "As President, you give gifts out to the competition winners and that can be expensive. I've just spent £1,000 on them.

"I'm giving gifts to the winners when I will be officiating at the indoor finals in Lincoln and the outdoor finals at Skegness. So, it's very fortuitous - the timing is really nice."

Some of the 16 biggest winners had their £84,210 cheques revealed together in the street, with the ecstatic neighbours celebrating side by side.

It was a double celebration for engaged couple Laura Horsley and Mark Cox, each of whom won £84,210.

However, regional account manager Laura had considered cancelling her ticket.

Fiancé Mark said: "You were going to stop, weren't you?"

Laura added: "I did think about stopping - we'd not really won anything big. I'm so glad I didn't!"

Now the couple, who've been together for seven years, is looking ahead to their big day and also has some home improvements in mind.

Laura said: "We're getting married in October. It's already booked."

Self-employed Mark added: "Icing on the cake, isn't it?"

Laura added: "We've been saving for the wedding, but we've also been saving up to do an extension on the house. We've got quite a good group of friends, and we're always round each other's houses for parties and meals and stuff."

But for now, on how they'll celebrate this evening, Laura said: "We're off to the pub!"

It was a stunning piece of luck which led to mum-of-two Marie Edmonds landing her £84,210 win.

Bookkeeper Marie and her husband Michael only moved into the street at the end of last year and hadn't got round to updating their address with Postcode Lottery.

In a magnificent twist, she won £12 with her old address in February, which sparked her into action.

Marie said: "I got an e-mail in February to say I had won £12 and that gave me that reminder that I needed to change [my postcode] so I could play with this address, because I hadn't got round to doing that.

"So, I signed up with the new address only in February, and literally the next month I have won this. Someone is looking down on me and looking after me."

She added: "I've been really shaky and nervy all week, and we wouldn't even have dared to dream it would be this much."

Michael spent 35 years in the RAF but turned detective when attempting to determine how much Marie's prize might be.

He laughed: "I Googled the hell out of it!

Michael, who now drives a forklift part-time for a well-known supermarket chain, added: "We were doing all sorts of calculations, but the bottom line is you don't know!"

Marie, who also works part-time in a local garden centre, added: "I was thinking maybe £10,000 or £20,000 if we were really lucky.

"But when I opened the envelope and saw the amount, I just couldn't believe it. It's just amazing.

"We've just had a big wooden lean-to built onto the house, so we are toying with the idea of a hot tub to put inside it."

Thousands Of Deserving Projects

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Animal Trust. Supported by our players, this trust provides grant funding to organisations that work to educate, support and promote animal welfare and conservation. Benefitting charities include PDSA, Guide Dogs, RSPCA, and Battersea.

A minimum of 30% of each ticket price goes to charities and good causes. To date, players have raised more than £1.4 billion for thousands of deserving projects worldwide. Our players are changing lives every day, helping people and the planet. Thank you for all your support - we really couldn't do it without you.

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