Happy In Hartlepool

There were ten happy Hartlepool neighbours this weekend when their postcode was drawn as the winner of this weekend's second Street Prize.

The lucky players, who play with postcode TS27 4BF, scooped £30,000 each.

Douglas Adamson was in shock about his £30,000 win. "I haven't a clue what to spend it on," he laughed. "But I do have eight grandchildren to spoil."

Blanche, a single mum to nine year old Trinity, has a few ideas on how to spend her winnings. "This is fantastic, I can pay off a house loan that I've wanted to get rid of and that will make life so much easier. Trinity would love a new iPad and we can also put some money away for our holiday in August."

Graeme Stafford, Emma Wood, and Jacqui Hunt, are all planning on using their £30,000 wins for holidays to spend quality time with their families.

Graeme said, "My wife Jill and I are still in shock. We're going to do up the garden and use the rest of the money to enjoy ourselves as a family and take our 13 year old daughter away on holiday."

Emma said, "My husband Michael and I are taking our two young kids to Florida in June, which we've been scrimping and saving for, so this is going to allow us to make it the holiday of a lifetime."

Jacqui said, "This win has given us real peace of mind. I'd like to take the kids on holiday and give my eldest son, who's at uni, a bit of cash to buy himself something."

Alison Robson, a self-employed bookkeeper, said, "It just doesn't seem real – I think it'll take a while to sink in. I signed up thinking it would be nice to win something, but also because I know about how much goes to charity. It's great that players are kept informed about what the money raised is helping to achieve."

Retired mechanical engineer Ernest Howlett also signed up knowing that the money raised helps good causes. "I spent most of my life working in hospitals, care homes, and wheelchair companies, so I have come across many people who are supported by grants like those given by People's Postcode Lottery. I can't believe that I've actually won – the money will make retirement a lot easier for me."

And finally, Lesley Rutherford was over the moon to be a winner at last. "My old postcode won a few years ago just after we moved, so we decided there and then to sign up," she said. "It's absolutely amazing that I've won."

There were two other winners in Hartlepool who won £30,000 each but were unfortunately not available to receive their cheques. Their winnings will be transferred directly into their bank accounts.

Street Prize Presenter Judie McCourt presented the winners with their cheques. She said, "I got to present cheques to a whole bunch of winners which was fantastic. People's Postcode Lottery is all about winning with your neighbours and that's certainly what happened today! Congratulations to all."

A minimum of 30% of the ticket price goes directly to charities. Players have raised more than £175 Million to date for good causes across Great Britain and internationally.

A project near Hartlepool that has received support from players is ABC Counselling/Play Therapy & Family Solutions, which was awarded £2,000 last year for a new programme to train young people to be peer mentors and leaders for those with severe learning and emotional issues.

Hartlepool wasn't the only lucky area this weekend, as one player in Thornaby also scooped £60,000 yesterday. 

Find out more about What Our Winners Say.