THE People’s Postcode Lottery has changed the lives of many people in North Yorkshire.
There have been a lot of Postcode Lottery winners in the region, some of which have scooped a life-changing sum.
Here is everything you need to know about the People’s Postcode Lottery- including the postcodes which have seen the biggest winners.
What is the People’s Postcode Lottery?
People's Postcode Lottery is not like the ordinary lottery.
It is a subscription-based lottery where people sign up with their postcodes for £10 a month.
If a winning postcode is drawn, every subscriber in that postcode wins a cash prize.
Players are automatically entered into ever draw and prizes are announced every day of the month- sometimes they are as little as £10, other times you could win thousands.
Every Saturday and Sunday, winning postcodes are announced where players each win £30,000.
Once a month, players in one postcode will share an incredible £3 million between them.
Best of all, 32% of the ticket price goes to various charities.
The biggest People’s Postcode Lottery winners since 2015
Since 2015, there have been 11 big North Yorkshire winners in the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Here is a full list of the winning postcodes:
£3 million winners
YO31 9
This York postcode won the biggest People’s Postcode Lottery prize available back in 2019.
The prize pot was shared between 377 players/tickets in the YO31 9 sector- people won anywhere between £5590-£16,770 depending on how many tickets they had.
However, the biggest prize winners came when the full postcode of YO31 9LW was revealed-three York families won hundreds of thousands.
One winner was Mark Brookes who took home £359,514 in total.
He said: “I actually wrote down three amounts on a piece of paper that I thought I’d win - two were low but then I wrote down £178,201 and I just thought that figure was the one.
"This lottery win will let my wife retire and I’ll be able to help each of the children put down a deposit on a house because they are all renting at the moment.”
£50,000 winners
LS25 6AU
(Credit: YouTube/People's Postcode Lottery)
Six Sherburn in Elmet winners won a share of £300,000 back in 2020.
Two of the players played with two tickets each which means they won £100, 000 each.
The remaining players won a whopping £50,000.
£30,000 winners
TS17 8NF
One Thornaby resident was thrilled after winning a total of £60,000 with his two tickets.
Albert Hamilton said: "We're really going to think about how to spend the winnings, we're still getting our heads round it," he said.
"We would like to go to Malta on holiday."
YO26 5HU
Two York residents won £30,000 each after their postcode was announced back in 2017.
The Carr Lane neighbours were delighted to have won the money.
Garry Barker said: “I'm not one for being shy but when I saw all of those zeros, I was lost for words.
“Buying a property abroad has always been a dream of ours so this might turn into a deposit for an apartment in Spain or somewhere sunny.
Another winner, Joan Mackie, said: "I can't believe it. My daughter encouraged me to sign up after she's had a few small wins but I never expected to win so much.
“It's a great way to support charities at the same time as having a chance to win.”
YO21 1HL
Two lucky Whitby winners scooped £30,000 each thanks to the post code they live in.
LA6 3GH
Just last year, two people from Laundry Lane, Ingleton received £30,000 cheques.
YO10 3PS
Fortune smiled on one person from Osbaldwick, York, who won £60,000 for their two winning tickets.
This prize was part of the lottery’s Christmas campaign where one postcode was drawn everyday to win £30,000.
People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson, said: “Winning street prizes is always exciting but when we come across players that play with more than one ticket, it’s something else!”
YO12 4NL
Five players from Seamer, Scarborough, each won an impressive £30,000 cheque in August of this year.
As a result of the pandemic, they were given the news over video chat.
Lisa Borrie was the first winner to receive the news.
She said: “That's amazing! Oh my goodness! This is incredible I can't believe it. It was my dad that told me sign up. He's eagerly awaiting the news. I think he's more excited than I am!"
She said the money will go towards home improvements.
£25,000 winners
TS14 7LR
In 2015, one lucky Guisborough resident won a £25,000 cash prize.
TS7 8LQ
Barbara Bennett from Marton was one of three neighbours to scoop £25,000.
She said: I can't believe I've won the exact same amount as my brother. I feel very lucky.
"It was such a pleasant surprise when the cheque was revealed and all the other neighbours who'd won were out in the street watching me open the envelope.
David Elsdon and Linda Smith also scooped the same cash prize.
TS17 0TQ
This was the last winning postcode of 2016 and it was won by a window cleaner from Ingleby Barwick.
Newton Tucker said: “It just hasn't sunk in – we are all completely delighted and over the moon.
"I didn't realise just how much players had raised for charity – over £161 Million is just phenomenal. I'll definitely keep on playing."
£1000 winners in North Yorkshire
While it might be the smallest cash prize, plenty of North Yorkshire postcodes have won the £1000 daily cash prize in 2020 alone.
In this region alone, there have been 395 winning tickets since 2015.
Nine neighbours in York won £1000 each this August for their YO26 5EG postcode.
Three people in Heworth got lucky in February when their postcode came up.
Back in May, eight people in Croft Way, Selby, won £1000 when YO8 8JJ was announced as a People’s Postcode Lottery Daily Prize winner.
For more information, visit the People’s Postcode Lottery website and their Facebook and Twitter pages.
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