An overjoyed mum won £250,000 after her partner had a dream that she would bag a big cash prize. Denise Walsh, 42, from Litherland, was one of three people who scooped a share of a £1m People’s Postcode Lottery win on her street.
Denise, a support worker, said: “I’m absolutely over the moon. I’m in shock. When the envelope was getting revealed, I thought, two thousand, three thousand maybe, which, you know, I was going to book a holiday for me and my daughter and my partner. When I saw that, it’s like, yeah, it’s life changing isn’t it?”
When the quarter of a million pound cheque was revealed, her partner Jo Spollin, 40, said: “I had a dream you won three hundred grand, didn’t I?” Denise shared £1m with two other neighbours who also won £250,000 on the Postcode Lottery’s weekly millionaire street prize on Saturday, July 27.
Every ticket was worth £250,000, but with one lucky player, Mandy Foulkes, 52, doubled her prize due to holding two tickets. Denise originally signed up to play thanks to her mum, who was on hand to lend her support with other members of the family.
She said: “It was my mum actually who told me to sign up. She only lives round the corner and she’s been doing it for, I think, about five years now. We had a little conversation and she said, ‘you should do it’, and I said yeah and so I’ve just done it ever since.”
Denise plans to use her prize to spoil her family with a special holiday, and treat her daughter Jessica, 11 with “a shopping spree day”. She said: “You know when you scroll through things and you look at these gorgeous villas and things like that. Everyone’s on a budget. Well, no, I’m not on a budget now. It’s all on me!”
Meanwhile Mandy, who has worked as a centre technician at Southport Hospital for the past three years, plans to celebrate her windfall with her three children. She said: “We’ll definitely go out for a meal somewhere and it won’t be McDonald’s, which is their favourite.”
She added that going on holiday with her children would be a top priority, as well as a possible home renovation or house move. The win comes just two months after seven players in Liverpool won Postcode Lottery’s Street Prize. The neighbours in Garston bagged £30,000 each after their street was announced as the winner on Sunday, May 26. One winner, Jo Taylor, 53, kept dreaming of the number three before winning her £30,000 prize – just like Denise and Jo.
The Brunswick Youth and Community Centre on Marsh Lane, Bootle, has also benefited from the People’s Postcode Lottery, as money made through ticket sales is used to support local charities. The organisation, which aims to create a safer, stronger and more cohesive community in Bootle and South Sefton, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, has been awarded £40,000 by Postcode Community Trust.
Valerie Johnson, development manager at Brunswick Youth and Community Centre, said: “I like to think of The Brunny, as it’s known in the community, as a little oasis in the heart of Bootle. Whatever’s going on in your life, this is a safe and welcoming space.”
Centre manager Keith Lloyd, a former youth worker who’s been coming to The Brunny since he was a child, said: “We were founded in 1947 by British prisoners of war in Braunschweig, Germany – hence the name The Brunswick. This incredible funding thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery will enable us to keep extending our services to make a real difference in this community – just as our founders imagined.”
Other local charities who have benefitted thanks to Millionaire Street include the Kindfulness Coffee Club (£25,000), Ykids Ltd (£50,000), and The Orrell Trust (£20,000).
