WE all dream of winning the lottery- and for some East Lancashire residents, this is a dream that has become a reality.

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

BB2 4

429 Blackburn residents at this postcode scooped a share of the £3 million prize pot.


Cheques ranged from £1,522 to £177,209.


Sarah Slater was one winner of the night and she scooped a whopping  £177,209.

She said: "Things like this just don't happen in Blackburn. When BB2 4UN was announced, we burst out crying. It just doesn't feel real. This is a life-changing amount of money for me and my partner Phil.
 

"We have always wanted to go to Las Vegas and now we can – we might get married while we're there. We can go to the Little White Wedding Chapel, and Phil can have Elvis as his best man. I might even be dressed as Dolly Parton."

Lancashire Telegraph: Sarah Slater and Stephen Mason (Photo: People's Postcode Lottery)Sarah Slater and Stephen Mason (Photo: People's Postcode Lottery)

Stephen Mason also won an impressive £177,209.

He said: “Our dream is to travel around Europe with the kids.

"We also want to pay off the mortgage, and we'll be able to pay for our youngest son Jake to attend a good school in Blackburn.

“Our other son, Lukas, is heading to University soon, so we'll be able to cover the fees, which is a big help."


BB2 4

Last year, Christmas came early for people at this Blackburn postcode which saw 1701 winners who received £776 for every ticket they played with.

Ten neighbours in the BB2 4FW postcode won a jaw-dropping £150,000 each.

Nigel Gahagan was one winner who said the money will help him retire.
Lancashire Telegraph: Nigel Gahagan (Photo:People's Postcode Lottery)Nigel Gahagan (Photo:People's Postcode Lottery)
He said: "I'm going to go into work on Monday and tell them I'm leaving. I've worked in the same place for over 10 years and they're a great company but I'm ready for retirement.

"My wife Catherine and I will need to sit down and have a good chat. She's always dreamed of a trip on the Orient Express, so we might actually do that."

PR25 3SR

In 2018, two players in Leyland won £25,000 each- and they also got to drive away with a brand new BMW.


PR4 2UE

One lucky Kirkham resident received a cheque for £30,000 back in 2017.

Belinda Marshall said: "I nearly fell over when I saw the cheque!

Lancashire Telegraph: Belinda Marshall (Photo:People's Postcode Lottery)Belinda Marshall (Photo:People's Postcode Lottery)

“I've become a celebrity in my little town and everyone has been telling me to find a shop to sell my cakes in so it seems like now is the perfect time to do it.

“I've never been abroad either, so I'll probably treat my two sons and daughter to a holiday in Cyprus."

FY8 1SN


In 2019, one player in The Crescent, Lytham St Annes won £30,000.

Another neighbour who played with two tickets collected an impressive £60,000.

BB2 6LJ

Lancashire Telegraph: Sean Scholes (Photo:People's Postcode Lottery)Sean Scholes (Photo:People's Postcode Lottery)

This postcode won in 2017 and one Blackburn resident scooped the £30,000 prize.

Bricklayer, Sean Scholes, said: "I never expected to win this much. I signed up to help charities as well as for a chance to win something."

"As I'm a builder, I might invest in some property to develop," he said. "I also want to get some friends together for a trip to Spain. I might even save up for New York."

East Lancashire winners of the smaller prizes

451 people in the Lancashire region have won the smaller £1000 prize since 2015- including 12 people in Accrington earlier this year.


One week in August, 26 people won £1000 each after BB12 7DF and BB10 2HE were announced as the lucky postcode winners.

For more information on the People’s Postcode Lottery website, visit or their Facebook and Twitter pages.