A former pub boss raised his glass to a £166,666 Postcode Lottery win in the beer garden of his old bar – then said cheers to the lady he sold it to after she scooped the same prize.
John Keogh, 67, kept playing at his old address despite selling the Five Bells in Tydd St Mary five years ago.
Cheers! John Keogh celebrates at his former pub. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
And it turned into a double celebration after it was revealed new owner, Sharon Allard, had also bagged the windfall.
Dad-of-two John, who ran the pub for around 16 years, said: “I had a feeling that the people I sold to would be in it. It is great…wonderful.”
His voice cracking with emotion, he added: “When I moved, I rang the Postcode Lottery and said I needed to change the address because I’d moved away. But I was told I didn’t have to and could keep this postcode, otherwise I wouldn’t be here today.
“Honestly, I was expecting about £20,000 to £30,000. This is unbelievable. I’m over the moon, I’ve got no words.”
Current landlady Sharon, 60, said on a FaceTime call from her holiday lodge in Quimper, northwest France: “It’s all good…everyone is a winner. I’m glad that everyone is getting something, it’s brilliant.”
Tony and Sharon Allard celebrated their win on holiday. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
Hubby Tony, 64, who co-owns the pub, added: “This is very nice, very nice. Thank you very much.”
John and Sharon shared £1 million with four other villagers in Tydd St Mary after PE13 5QH landed the lottery’s weekly Millionaire Street prize.
Every ticket was worth £166,666.
John told how he continued to play at the pub address and his new address 80 miles away in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, despite wife Theresa telling him to cancel the old ticket.
The winners have fun in the sun with cheques for their £1m total prize fund. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
Center Parcs worker Teresa, 64, said: “I said it was ridiculous paying for two tickets, and I didn’t even do one. He said, ‘but what if I win?’
“I’d like to say well done. I’m happy for him. He works hard and deserves it.”
Cricket club commercial manager John, who had made the journey back to the village for the first time in years, chipped in: “I’ve proved her wrong. I’ll still give her something. It feels amazing.”
Now John has plans to help his growing family – and fulfil a dream himself.
He said: “Definitely a holiday and I might even buy a boat. Maybe like a river cruiser or one that can go out on the estuary.
“I’ll definitely give my two sons some money and my four grandsons and look after everybody. It will be fun.”
Sharon and Tony polished off a bottle of champagne while waiting for the call from daughter Rebecca, 28, and lottery ambassador Judie McCourt to tell them how much they’d won.
Winner Sharon Allard had her prize revealed over a video call from daughter Rebecca. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
Now they want to take their whole family on holiday and continue to renovate their pub, which dates back to the 1500s.
Mum-of-six Sharon, who went on holiday two days before the presentation, said: “We drank a bottle of champagne while we were waiting and I’m now on orange juice.
“We’ll take the family on holiday to a nice big villa.”
Grandad Tony added: “There are still some things that we need to do to the pub.”
The couple recently painted the exterior of the boozer pink to raise funds for a local cancer centre and Breast Cancer Now, a charity for which Postcode Lottery players have so far raised £16.6m.
Villagers rallied behind the pub initiative to raise more than £7,500 which was split between Breast Cancer Now and the Alan Hudson Centre in nearby Wisbech which supports people with life-limiting conditions.
Daughter Rebecca, who accepted the cheque on her parents’ behalf, said: “We had a couple of local people who have breast cancer and wanted to raise money, so mum and dad said they would do an event here.
“Part of it was to paint the pub pink, and they had a big day. This is quite a hub for everyone and whenever we do anything everyone pulls together.”
Further down the cottage-lined street, dominated by the spire of St Mary’s Church, practicing Pagan Juliette Corvelli, 68, told how she knew ‘something was coming’ after reading her tarot cards.
Pagan Juliette Corvelli read about her win in her Tarot deck. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
But she was still left shocked when she pulled a cheque for £166,666 from the gold envelope.
The mum-of-two said: “I read tarot cards a lot and I knew there was a big change coming. I was seeing it for a few weeks that something was changing in my life, and that it was good.
“It said it would put me in the spotlight, which I couldn’t understand. It kind of gives you pointers, but doesn’t give you details.
“It’s about intuition and connecting with the cards. How they come out tells lots of different stories. I got a sense that this is what the cards were telling me. I knew it was something bigger than normal. There were big cards showing a change of life in them.”
She added: “I’m absolutely shocked, it’s just amazing. It’s going to take a while to sink in.”
Retired pub boss Juliette said she’ll look after her two daughters, aged 44 and 38, and her 18-year-old granddaughter – as well as herself.
Juliette Corvelli is shocked to see her winnings. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
She said: “I’ve got two daughters and a granddaughter and will treat them. A holiday would be nice. I definitely need practical things like a new bed and a fridge freezer, with plenty left over for a family trip and treating myself a bit.”
Juliette explained she gets comfort from her Pagan beliefs – and signed up for the Postcode Lottery to support charities, particularly those which help animals.
She said: “Being a Pagan means that you believe that nature is the most important thing in life. Trees and plants and things have so much more influence on our lives than we realise. It’s all to do with nature, it’s not all woo woo like people think.”
She added: “I like doing the Postcode Lottery because of all the charities that it supports. My favourites are animal charities.”
And Juliette, who suffers from osteoarthritis and has had three hip replacements, was delighted to share the £1m prize with her neighbours.
She said: “It’s very nice that everyone gets a share of it. It’s a very nice community and a nice place to live.”
Up the road, Nicky Panter, 52, started sobbing as soon as she saw her cheque – then laughed as she told how her husband had told her not to cry or swear when she got the prize.
Nicky Panter was in tears after discovering her win. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
Now she’s going to help her two children Daisy, 26, and bricklayer son Kody, 21 – and buy the campervan she and hubby Lee were planning to get in retirement.
Holding the £166,666 cheque over her face to hide her tears, she said: “I didn’t expect that…not at all. I’m absolutely buzzing with that amount. I’m over the moon.
“My daughter’s getting married in Spain next year and my son probably wants to move out.
“We’ve always wanted to get a camper and go travelling, so we can get a little one now. We were going to do that in retirement, but we can bring that forward.”
Nicky said she and her husband have become close to pub bosses Sharon and Tony since moving to the village five years ago.
She added: “It’s great that we get to share this with our friends. We knew on Friday that they had won, too. We went up for a drink and just sat giggling at a table.”
Nicky, who moved from Essex during the pandemic, still commutes back for part of the week to her job as a manager at Basildon Hospital – while bathroom fitter Lee, 58, also often makes the 2.5-hour journey for clients.
Posing in the Nashville-themed bar in the back garden of their brick-built cottage, she said: “We probably wouldn’t have moved if Covid hadn’t happened. But just driving into this street, it felt like home.”
It was happy hour at Nicky Panter’s garden bar. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
At the end of the village, Peter Eves stood in his breathtaking garden with his cheque and confessed he blanked the lottery team’s knock on the door because he thought it would be the cat food delivery firm.
Peter, 65, said: “I was in the shower when I got a knock on the door and ignored it. I thought it was the cat food delivery people.”
Peter Eves, aka Teapot Pete, celebrates his windfall. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
He added: “This is absolutely life changing. I got goosebumps on the doorstep. I never thought this would happen to us. I’m unbelievably pleased.
“We’ll do the obvious things…have a little break and there are always jobs to do in the garden.
Keen gardener Peter is known as Teapot Pete in the village because of the topiary teapot on his hedge
He said: “It means even more to win with neighbours and know that the joy and happiness has spread.”
Retired IT project manager Peter said he’ll sit down with wife Sharon, 57, to discuss plans for the cash – but they are already content with their lives.
He said: “I might get a new greenhouse and get back to doing a bit more travelling. We have nieces and nephews. It might be nice to take them out and carry on doing what we’re doing.
“We count ourselves as already lucky and blessed. There’s nothing we need or want.”
Next door neighbours Caron Bishop, 56, and husband Adrian, 62, were left stunned after seeing their winnings.
New grandparents Caron and Adrian were overjoyed. Photo: Lucy Young for Postcode Lottery
New grandmother Caron said: “I’m speechless, my heart is pounding. I’m shocked and really, really happy.”
Dad-of-two Adrian added: “We are going to be booking a holiday and getting on with some house renovations. We’ve also just been blessed with a grandson and I’m sure he’ll be having quite a bit of it.”
Caron, a teaching assistant at the village pre-school, said she joined up because her late mum was already a Postcode Lottery player.
She said: “My mum did it first and I thought I might as well have a go. I never thought I would win this amount of money.
“We’ve got a pub very close to us that might be open this evening. The community is like an extended family and the pub is at the heart of it.”
Construction firm contracts manager Adrian added: “We’ll have a few refreshments in the evening and invite people from around the village.”
The neighbours all spoke of their passion for supporting charities as being the main reason for joining the Postcode Lottery.
And their Millionaire Street win means a string of local organisations will benefit from surprise funding.
One charity, Cambridgeshire ACRE, has been awarded £70,000 thanks to funds raised by Postcode Lottery players.
They empower rural communities with a wide range of initiatives, from facilitating accessible housing and promoting economic growth to improving health and wellbeing.
Chief Executive Hayley Neal said “Every day, Cambridgeshire ACRE works with local people to make rural communities stronger.
“Whether it’s helping someone access support through one of our Village Agents, keeping a much-loved village hall open, bringing people together at a Community Hub, helping deliver affordable homes or supporting volunteers to care for their local environment, we’re there to help communities flourish.”
The charity also amplifies the voices of rural communities to ensure they are heard in policy discussions, funding decisions and regional planning.
Hayley added: “A huge thank you to Postcode Lottery players. Their support is helping charities like ours make a real difference.”
Other local charities receiving funding include:
Centre 33 – £80,000: Centre 33 Young People’s Counselling and Information Service supports young people aged up to 25 in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with their emotional and practical needs.
People and Animals UK CIC – £50,000: The charity provide animal-assisted therapeutic interventions, activities, education and skills development opportunities for children, young people and adults.
Wisbech Foodbank – £20,000: Provides emergency food and practical support to people in their hardest moments. The charity also work in their local communities to help people before they need a food bank.
Postcode Lottery costs £12.50 a month to play and there are guaranteed winners every day. People play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws.
Players of Postcode Lottery have raised more than £1.8 billion for thousands of charities and local good causes.
