Glee For Torquay

There were 874 happy people celebrating in Torquay after they each scooped a windfall in the first of May's Postcode Millions.

May is an extra special month with not one but two Postcode Millions prizes, worth a whopping £3 Million each. The first was shared between players in the winning postcode sector of TQ2 6. The winners of the second will all find out how much they've won next week.

The Torquay winners were invited to a special celebration at Riviera International Conference Centre to discover exactly how much they'd won and find out the full winning postcode, which was revealed as TQ2 6PF. Three lucky Solsbro Road neighbours scooped the biggest share of the prize, winning an amazing £178,213 each.

Screamed With Excitement

One of those lucky winners was Carol, who screamed with excitement when presented with her cheque for £178,213. She was joined by her husband Alan - they couldn't believe it was their postcode that had won. Carol said, "I said to Alan that's ours, but we checked and checked and asked the people in the seat beside us to check before I went up to the stage!

"I only started playing the Postcode Lottery in April because my friend in Dorset won £5,000 so I thought I might as well give it a shot but I absolutely did not expect that.

"It was Alan's birthday yesterday, so I'm going to buy him a convertible for his present - he's always wanted one and it's been the dream since we moved to Torquay a couple of years ago. I think we might go on holiday too, I've never been on a plane before so now seems the time!"

It Felt Amazing

Roger, a retired lorry driver, was another lucky winner receiving a cheque for £178,213. He said, "I'm still trying to take it all in, I'm feeling all mixed up! I couldn't believe it when my full postcode came up on the screen, it felt amazing to hear everyone cheer!”

Roger plans to treat himself to a new car but will also share the win with his family. He said, "I had my eye on a Ford Kuga but I can afford to get something nicer now! I'll definitely take a holiday abroad but I've no idea where. I need to take some time to think about and let it all sink in. My daughter, Sarah and son, Wayne will be getting a share of the money. Wayne is at work now, so he still has no idea I have won, it will be a good surprise for him too!"

Roger's daughter Sarah was with her dad at the event, and was just as shocked as he was. She said, "I nearly passed out! It's absolutely wonderful. My mum sadly passed away a few years ago from cancer so it's lovely to know that charities, including those that support people with cancer, are also benefiting from people playing."

There was one other winner that landed the top prize, and the remaining 871 winners in postcode sector TQ2 6 took home between £2,549 and £15,294 each.

People's Postcode Lottery Presenters Danyl Johnson and Judie McCourt handed the lucky winners their cheques. Danyl said, "Congratulations to all of our winners who've taken home a cheque today! It's fantastic to have the community all celebrating together - it sounds like there's some exciting plans already in the works for spending their winnings." 

Judie added, "What and incredible day we've had here in Torquay! We met so many amazing winners and it was just fantastic to see everyone celebrating together with their neighbours. And what a win for Roger and Carol - I am so delighted for them and hope they enjoy spending it."

Charities And Good Causes Benefit

With a minimum of 32% of the ticket price going to charities and good causes, players have raised over £427 Million for thousands of organisations to date. This prize was part of a draw promoted on behalf of Postcode Community Trust.

Along with People's Postcode Trust and Postcode Local Trust, Postcode Community Trust is a grant-giving trust funded by players of our lottery.

A number of local charities and groups have been supported by the trusts, including Carers Aid Torbay which received £1,980 for a project to help unpaid carers understand and access the help they are entitled to.

See more pictures from the day in our Postcode Millions photo album on Facebook.

Not signed up to play People's Postcode Lottery yet? Take a look at our How It Works page and find out why you should. With Prizes announced every day, it's a great time to sign up to play!

The weekend also provided celebrations in other lucky postcodes. One player was over the moon after winning Saturday's Street Prize, whilst three neighbours picked up £30,000 cheques in Sunday's Street Prize.