A group of neighbours in a Wiltshire town is celebrating after splitting a £1m prize pot won in the Postcode Lottery.
Pamela Hiscocks, 79, and hubby Anthony, 82, bagged their three-bedroom bungalow in a competition run by developers who built the new estate in the 1960s.
Now the semi’s postcode has landed the couple a whopping windfall – worth 45 times the house’s original £3,175 purchase price.
The mum-of-one, of Melksham, Wiltshire, said: “We’ve been lucky in the past, but this is just amazing
“I can’t take it in. That’s big money. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d win that money. It’s so exciting.”
Retired Anthony added: “That’s not real. I’m flabbergasted and gobsmacked.”
The Hiscocks shared a £1m pot with six other neighbours in the market town of Melksham after SN12 7HB landed the lottery’s weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday 18 April. Every ticket was worth £142,857.
The couple told how they have landed big prizes before, including their home and the football pools – but this has topped it.
Pam, Gary, and Lesley. (Image: Postcode Lottery)
Anthony said: “This was a brand-new estate built by a company in Bath and the first 60 buyers had the chance to win their house in a competition. We had to write a slogan to advertise selling the houses. Mine was ‘choose your plot and win the lot’, and it won.
“The house was worth £3,175 or something like that, but that was three years’ wages in those days.”
The retired brewery engineer added: “Then I won the pools with a syndicate of 13 at work. It was £200,000 odd between us.”
Now family-focussed Pam is determined to share her good fortune with their son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.
Pam said: “We’ll spend the winnings on family. It’s family first, always family first. I always want to make sure my family are alright.”
Pam was also delighted for close friend and neighbour Lesley Rose and her husband Philip, who live in the bungalow opposite.
She said: “It’s lovely winning with a friend. We’re so close and such good friends. It’s just nice that we can share it together.
“I’d feel terrible if I’d won and she hadn’t, and she would be the same with me. They’re just lovely people.”
Courageous grandmother Lesley, 77, who has incurable cancer, matched her friend’s £142,857 win and said it’s ‘just unbelievable’ after years of heartbreak.
Lesley and Philip hold prize aloft (Image: Postcode Lottery)
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Lesley fought back tears as she clutched her six-figure cheque, with husband Philip, 79, proudly by her side.
Next door Gary Walker, 57, started playing after his sister-in-law and nephew won £30,000 each on Postcode Lottery more than eight years ago – and was left shocked after revealing his £142,857 cheque.
Gary’s looking forward to booking holidays – and he’s eyeing up the world’s top golf courses.
He said: “This is amazing, life changing money. I don’t know what to say. I’m overjoyed.
“This gives you nice things. Plenty of golf and some holidays. A cruise, maybe, round the Canaries. A Caribbean cruise would be nice. We’ve been there before, but it would be nice to go back to relax and enjoy it.
“We could go anywhere really with this amount of money. There are a lot of places all over the world that I’d like to play golf, like St Andrews.”
The neighbours were all overjoyed to learn that their win means local charities also get surprise funding, with £60,000 going to organisation Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
Chief executive officer Chris Butler-Stroud said: “At a time when charities are facing funding challenges, this generous support will make a huge difference to whales and dolphins.
Other charities receiving funding include Age UK Wiltshire – £60,000, 4Youth (South West) – £40,000 and Melksham Scout Group – £5,000.
