Coatbridge Millionaire Street

A STUNNED grandmother bought extra People's Postcode Lottery tickets by mistake - and quadrupled her winnings.

Lucky Geraldine decided to buy a second ticket when she retired a few months ago but signed up for four instead of two in error.

The retired insurance worker immediately realised her gaffe but decided to keep all the tickets anyway, and now it has landed her £153,844.

The retired insurance worker, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, said, "I always just played with one ticket but, when I retired, I thought I would up it to two but hit four by mistake. When I went on to try and change it back to two, I thought I couldn't be bothered so I just kept them all."

She added, "It feels amazing and surreal, but I'll keep on playing with four tickets."

Geraldine shared £1 million with 19 other neighbours in Coatbridge after ML5 3PL landed our weekly Millionaire Street prize today. Every ticket was worth £38,461 but Geraldine quadrupled her winnings with four tickets. Three other players each doubled their prizes to £76,922 as they played with two tickets.

Now Geraldine and retired husband Paul are planning to treat themselves on a trip they've already booked to Gran Canaria to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary today (Saturday).

She said, "It's our Ruby Wedding on Saturday and we'll be in Gran Canaria. We'll go for a nice meal somewhere posher for our wedding anniversary. And it'll be champagne instead of Cava."

The couple, who met at school, are also dreaming of more sunshine-filled breaks, as well as helping out their family.

Mum-of-two Geraldine said, "We'll get a couple of more holidays and treat the family. They deserve it. I'd love a family holiday.

"Paul loves Las Vegas. We went to see Rod Stewart there and saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden in New York. I want to go back to New York. I've always wanted to see it near Christmas.

"We like cruises, but we've only ever done the Med. We were on one in May, but we could go further afield now."

Paul added, "We've got a week in the sunshine to think about it."

Further along the street, Lee revealed she started playing weeks after partner Thomas joined, but signed up with two tickets.

Stunned Lee - who had just finished a night shift as a nurse practitioner - scooped £76,922 while Lee pocketed £38,461.

Now the couple are planning some home improvements and want to take their son Felix to Disney. Thomas also fancies watching his team in the Champions League.

Lee said, "Oh my God, I can't believe this. It's more money than I've ever had in my life. We'll do house stuff. We might look at new floors, windows and gutters. Kind of boring stuff. And we'll spoil our wee boy. Get him anything he wants."

Thomas said, "Disneyland probably! He sees it all the time on the television and said he'd love to go. Legoland is a possibility, too.

"I'm buzzing and in a bit of shock. I'd like to go and see Celtic in the Champions League. We'll see what happens after the draw."

Lee laughed, "He's allowed!"

The couple both signed up because they believe the power of postcodes is vital in supporting charities.

Lee said, "It's great that charities are benefitting from it as well, and amazing that our neighbours are getting to share it, too. It's a great day all round. I'm really chuffed for everyone."

Thomas added, "It's worth playing just for the good causes. But it's definitely worth playing now. It's a lot of money that's going to help us do the house up and things like that."

Across the street, Robert said his £76,922 cheque was karma after he helped out a tourist days earlier.

Robert paid the man's car parking fee during a break in St Andrews - and he told him "something good" would happen to him.

The retired Tunnock's bakery maintenance engineer said, "We were up in St Andrews on holiday for a week and went into a car park and had to get a ticket. An America guy only had a £10 note and didn't have any change, and we said the machine only took change."

"He said he would give us £10 if we gave him change. I said I'd just give him the money, but he still wanted to give me £10. But I didn't take it.

"After I paid it he said, 'Thanks very much. Something good is going to happen for you, and we'll pass this on.'"

Robert laughed, "This was just last week so we didn't have to wait too long."

He revealed wife Ann persuaded him to sign up a decade ago after one of her friends won.

Robert laughed, "My wife really pestered me into it after one of her friends won. I feel elated. I've no idea what we're going to do with it. Maybe go back to Australia. I have two sisters there - that's if they want to see me!"

Tearful Ann, who broke down when their cheque was revealed, said, "We'll need to get new passports first. They ran out during Covid and we never bothered renewing them. The world is our oyster now."

She added, "We've never won anything like that. I'm overwhelmed and never expected it in a million years. This is the best day ever. I'm still shaking like a leaf."

The couple are now considering some home improvements and another dream holiday.

Robert said, "I would like to get a new driveway. I'd love a river cruise down the Rhine. I've always fancied that."

Ann added, "The best cruise was on my 50th on the QE2 from Southampton and round the Med. I'd like to do something like that."

Stephen found out how much he'd won while waiting for his cruise ship to depart from Marmaris in Turkey.

The engineer and his wife Elaine watched his neighbours unveil their cheques on FaceTime while his daughter Stephanie and her partner Lee held up their phone in the street. Now Stephen fancies a new car - possibly a Mercedes C63.

Grandad Stephen said, "I'm happy with the win. I might buy a new car and take our daughter and her family on a wee holiday.

"We're just about to go on a Med cruise and the holiday has just got a lot better."

Tesco worker Elaine added, "We might have a cider or a couple of cocktails to celebrate."

Neighbours came out to their front gardens to applaud all the winners and shouted out "Well done!" as they gathered in the street to open their golden envelopes together.

Sharon found out she'd won just days before flying out on holiday to the Greek isle of Crete.

Now she's already planning a bucket list trip to India to see the Taj Mahal, as well as helping her two daughters and five grandchildren.

The retiree - who moved to Scotland from Northern Ireland three years ago - said, "I'll just be looking after my family and going on a lot more holidays. The Taj Mahal is the place that's on my bucket list."

Nearby, Anne Marie was also getting ready to set sail on a Disney cruise with her two sisters - and says the cash means they can turbo-charge the holiday.

The retired civil servant lives with big sister Catherine and they're teaming up with older sibling Theresa for their luxury Caribbean jaunt.

She said, "The three of us will go for a nice lunch in the city to talk about it. The money means a huge amount. It means we can do things without thinking too hard."

She added, "I've been wanting a new car, maybe a Vauxhall Mokka. There are new versions of it."

College lecturer Marie is also in the holiday mood after banking a £38,461 prize. She picked up her cheque with hubby Michael, a Network Rail worker.

The mum-of-three said, "This is absolutely amazing. I'm delighted, it's totally out of the blue. We'll have a holiday and give the kids something."

Michael added, "Dubai or Vegas - one of those two."

Marie revealed she never told any of her family that she had signed up for Postcode Lottery, but had to confess after getting a call from us to say she'd won.

She said, "No one in my family knew I had signed up until I won."

Michael said, "She phoned me up when I was coming home from work and I was like, 'What?!'"

Anne and hubby David had already booked a once-in-a-lifetime trip to celebrate their Ruby Wedding anniversary next year with their two kids, their partners and grandchild.

The family are due to jet out to Vegas and Los Angeles before cruising to Vancouver via San Francisco.

Retired Anne said, "We're 40 years married next year, and our son is 30, so we're taking the whole family on holiday."

Waving her £38,461 cheque, she added, "The holiday's all sorted anyway - this is the spending money."

The 20 neighbours will be delighted to learn that their Millionaire Street win means that six local charities will receive more than a quarter-of-a-million pounds from Postcode Community Trust.

One of those charities, Coatbridge Citizens Advice Bureau (Coatbridge CAB) received a massive funding boost of £100,000, thanks to players of People's Postcode Lottery.

The charity provides advice to the local community regarding any financial or health and wellbeing issues they may have in their life.

Over the past year, Coatbridge CAB has dealt with more than 4,000 people, resulting in them providing advice on over 13,000 different topics.

Marian Tobin, Bureau Manager at Coatbridge CAB, said, "£100,000 is a hugely significant amount of money and it means we can secure funding for the next couple of years to retain our experienced staff within our welfare rights team, who provide such a vital service.

"It's a weight off our shoulders and it means we can continue offering support for our local community."

Neighbouring charity, Deaf Services Lanarkshire (DSL) was also delighted to learn of an £80,000 award.

Serving hundreds of deaf Lanarkshire residents every month, DSL offers a drop-in centre to better improve the deaf community's access to mainstream services.

As well as translating everyday household communications into British Sign Language, the charity also helps with fundamental items such as phone calls to doctors and hospitals.

Sylvia McPhillips, Service Manager at Deaf Services Lanarkshire, said, "Our mission is to improve the lives of the deaf community by removing barriers they may have in their lives.

"Our work extends across local voluntary organisations and community groups, so the funding we have received is going to be vital in supporting our charity at every level and means we can reach more people who really do need this type of support."

Other local organisations who have been awarded funding include:

• Cliftonville & Coatdyke Community Group - £70,000 A community hub in Coatbridge where people can meet for a variety of activities and classes.

• Shining Stars ASN Theatre School - £30,000 A theatre school for anyone with an additional support need. Their workshops include drama, musical theatre and arts therapy.

• The Albion Rovers Community Trust - £5,000 A community wing of Albion Rovers F.C. They organise activities for groups who may be experiencing a disadvantage such as financial hardship or illness.

• More Than Fibro - £5,000 Working to raise awareness of Fibromyalgia, as well as supporting those living with the condition and their families.

All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust.

Good Causes Everywhere

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.

With 33% of the ticket price going to charities and good causes, players of People's Postcode Lottery have raised more than £1.3 billion for thousands of deserving causes and projects across Great Britain and around the world. Our players are making a difference every day for a wide range of amazing organisations.

With fabulous Prizes announced every single day, it's a great time to become a People's Postcode Lottery player. Take a look at How It Works and, if you're feeling lucky, sign up to play.