Champagne In Chatham

1,100 Chatham residents are celebrating today after we revealed on Facebook ME5 9 as the winning postcode sector of our March Postcode Millions draw. Players in that sector each scooped a share of a £3.7 Million prize.

Nine neighbours on Oakhurst Close won the biggest prize amounts after ME5 9AN was then revealed as the full winning postcode, each pocketing an incredible £185,000 for every ticket they play with.

This win comes only three months after £8.4 Million was won in the neighbouring town of Rochester.

Completely Gobsmacked

Robin scooped the biggest prize on the street and couldn't believe his eyes when People's Postcode Lottery Presenter Matt Johnson unveiled his cheque. Because he played with two tickets, he won an incredible £370,000. He exclaimed, "It'll take a while to sink in, I'm gobsmacked!"

The dad-of-five plans to use some of the money for a much-needed operation. He said, "I can get a new knee! It'll make a huge difference to my life."

Robin learned of his windfall alongside his wife, Carol. It wouldn't change their normal Friday night routine too much, though. Carol said, "We always have fish and chips on a Friday, it's our takeaway. Usually, we might have a glass of wine, but tonight I think it might be champagne!" 

With nine children between them, Robin said the couple would be treating them all. Carol also had a few ideas of her own. She said, "We need to do the shower upstairs and then perhaps we'll have a nice holiday. A nice Caribbean cruise that we've always fancied."

Best Holiday Ever

Among our other big winners was Patricia, who was left stunned after learning she'd netted a £185,000 cheque only minutes before heading off to the airport. She said, "I've just won the lottery on the same day that I'm flying to Las Vegas! I can't believe it - this doesn't happen to me.

"I'm going away with my mum and sister to Las Vegas, it's a delayed 50th birthday trip. I had my 50th birthday two years ago but because of COVID I couldn't go anywhere. It's just going to be the best holiday ever."

Patricia, who works as a financial advisor, added, "I can now cut down my hours at work. I've been doing 11-hour days and it's been really tiring. I can also get the kitchen done and treat my family when I'm back. It's absolutely amazing. This has changed my life."

No April Fool

Another lucky neighbour to win £185,000 was Carlo. As the news sank in, he exclaimed, "It's the greatest April Fools I've ever had!" He was joined by his partner, Annie, who added, "No one will believe me!"

Carlo, who trains crime scene investigators, already had plans for his winnings, with a first-ever holiday for their son on the horizon. He said, "There's so many thoughts already about lots of different things. We've got some friends abroad that would be really lovely to see in California and in New Zealand. We might be able to get to both, which would be really cool.

"It would be a pretty good adventure! I'm sure our three-year-old son would love to go on his first plane journey."

Annie, who works as a teacher at a local primary school, also wants to treat her family. She said, "My mum's car has just been terrible for the last few months. It will work for a few days and then completely misbehaves. She can't open the windows, or the door sometimes won't open. She lives a couple of hours away and she looks after my granny as well. It would just be really nice to say you've got something you can completely trust, and it will last ages.

"My mum is possibly the most amazing and selfless person I've ever known. It would just be lovely to say to her a massive, massive, 'You're awesome.'"

A Real Surprise

Debbie also netted a big Postcode Millions prize. After the initial shock of seeing her £185,000 cheque had passed, she said, "It's been a real surprise. I don't still quite believe it."

She joked that her family might not believe her at first, and said, "I do play some elaborate April Fools pranks so people will expect something!"

Debbie, who runs a beauty therapy training school and works as a mind and women's confidence coach, had a few ideas for her windfall. She said, "It's huge, it's a lot. It means we can put something by, it means we can treat ourselves to a holiday and do some bits on the house.

"We have a week booked in Greece so maybe we'll extend that."

Debbie was thrilled for the community after hearing that her neighbours had also won prizes. She added, "It's lovely because we're such a nice community here so it's lovely to be able to share this with my neighbours. I've lived here over 21 years and most of my neighbours have lived as long or longer than that, so everyone knows each other."

On Top Of The World

Brooke was another super six-figure lottery prize winner, and her cheque was revealed as snow started falling. She exclaimed, "Oh my God, oh my God, buzzing!

"I've never had that much money in my life. I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me. I'm just on top of the world."

House renovations were foremost in Brooke's mind when asked how she might spend her prize. She said, "It's going to make a massive difference. We've done a lot of the work [on the house] ourselves. It's been a lot of hard work for us.

"We already said whatever it is we're going to put it towards the house and have a big holiday. We've been saving up for that really hard, but we don't need to do that anymore."

The remaining 1,091 residents in the sector received cheques ranging from £1,487 to £4,461, depending on how many tickets they played with.

Matt Johnson presented our winners with their prize cheques and shared his congratulations. He said, "It's incredible to see over a thousand neighbours winning together in ME5 9. It's been a really special day from start to finish surprising some of our lovely winners. I'm sure there will be plenty of celebrations this weekend!"

Good Causes Everywhere

Today's prize is part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Support Trust, which provides regular grant funding to organisations that support people who need help to live happy and more fulfilled lives. Supported charities include Crisis, Missing People and Royal Voluntary Service.

With 33% of the ticket price going to deserving projects, players of People's Postcode Lottery have now raised more than £850 Million for over 9,000 charities and good causes across Great Britain as well as internationally.

Have you been thinking about playing People's Postcode Lottery but not set up your subscription yet? There are Prizes announced every day! Find out more about How It Works. Sign up to play and join the fun.