I had to split my £10.2MILLION lottery jackpot with 10 council estate neighbours – I’m stunned & think I’m going to cry
AN ARMY veteran has revealed his shock at winning a £10.2million jackpot – which has been split among his council estate neighbours.
Father-of-two and former policeman David, from Perthshire, managed to bag £1.02million in the People’s Postcode Lottery last month.
He landed the whopping windfall with 10 neighbours in his close-knit housing estate in Bridge of Earn after PH2 9FG won the April 27 prize.
The £10.2million pot was the biggest ever in Scotland.
Each ticket was worth £340,000, but David tripled his prize by playing with three – and became the Postcode Lottery’s third millionaire.
Two others scored £680,000 with two tickets, while eight pocketed £340,000 each with one ticket.
Stunned grandfather David was rubbing his face as neighbours screamed with joy as his three large cheques were unveiled.
He said: “I won £10 before and all of a sudden you’re handing me this! It is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
“I don’t know how I’m feeling. I’m a bit shell-shocked.
“I thought £15,000 or even £5,000 would have been a lot, but I’m absolutely stunned.
“I’m overwhelmed, flabbergasted, blown away.
“My legs feel like jelly and I’ve got a lump in my throat.
“I’m going to have to take a bit of time to get my head round this.”
He added: “I’m from a council scheme in Perth and this just doesn’t happen.
“I’ve never been driven by money and I’ve always been a charitable sort of guy. If you can’t help other folk it’s a sad day.”
David is a Black Watch veteran who served several Northern Ireland tours. He was just 18 during his first.
The lucky few: Postcode Lottery winners
David has become the Postcode Lottery’s third millionaire.
Welshman Kevin, of Llandrindod Wells, Powys, scooped a record £1,210,914 jackpot in January’s Postcode Millions.
And in 2014, Colin of Invergordon, Easter Ross, won £1million playing with four tickets as IV18 0JP won the September Postcode Millions.
Last week The Sun reported on retired pipe-fitter Peter Nicholson, from Scunthorpe, who won £90,000 on the Postcode Lottery.
Peter said his immediate thoughts were about his heart and joked about having “palpitations” after learning of his win.
“This is absolutely fantastic, but it doesn’t do my heart any good,” he said.
And Roly, a father from Chester, scooped £333,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery, but said he would wait 14 years to spend it.
He shared the Millionaire Street pot with two neighbours in Chester after CH2 3RT won the whopping prize.
The Cheshire man said he is looking to the future ahead to put savings in place for his daughter.
And earlier this month The Sun reported on a map which revealed Britain’s luckiest city for scooping the Postcode Lottery.
The postcode district with the highest number of average wins has been found to be Preston, according to new research.
After leaving the Army in the 1990s, he joined the then Grampian Police becoming a Detective Constable in CID before retiring.
Now he plans to help his primary school teacher daughter Aimie, offshore worker son Dale, and his two grandchildren.
Avid golf fan David also wants to treat his three friends to a special trip to Augusta, Georgia – home of the Masters Tournament.
He said: “I play with some guys all the time and I’d like to treat them to somewhere nice.
“We’ve been pals for many, many years and played all the main courses in Scotland. I’d probably look at Augusta for The Masters and try and play there or even just have a wee look round.”
David is delighted to share the prize pot with 10 neighbours, saying: “It’s great for the little cul-de-sac and just brilliant for the whole area.”
One such lucky person, Stewart, won an incredible £680,000.
He said he believed his late ex-partner, Robert, who died of a brain tumour two years ago, may be looking out for him.
Risks of playing the lottery
Lotto by the National Lottery is a game where you pick six numbers from 1 to 59. You can play up to seven lines of numbers on each slip.
The game costs £2 to play per slip.
The odds of winning any prize on the Lotto are 1 in 9.3.
But to win the jackpot on the Lotto, the odds are considerably slimmer.
To bag the top prize, you need to have six matching balls. The odds of doing this and scooping the jackpot are currently 1 in 45,057,474.
The next highest prize of £1,000,000 is for getting five main matching balls plus the bonus ball.
The odds of taking home the million pound prize are 1 in 7,509,579 – far higher than the jackpot, but still unlikely.
The odds of taking home £1,750 for getting five main numbers without the bonus ball are 1 in 2,180, while you have a 1 in 97 chance of bagging £140 for getting four main numbers.
Your chances of taking home £30 for getting 3 main numbers are much better at 1 in 97.
And you have a roughly 1 in 10 chance of getting a free lucky dip for 2 matching numbers.
Full list of odds:
Six numbers: 1 in 45,057,474
Five numbers + bonus ball: 1 in 7,509,579
Five numbers: 1 in 144,415
Four numbers: 1 in 2,180
Three numbers: 1 in 97
Two numbers: 1 in 10.3
Retired foster carer Stewart said: “I kept shouting at him since he died that he never left me any money to bury his dogs. Maybe this is him saying, ‘There you go’.”
He said he might treat himself to a Nissan Juke and do up his house with paint and new carpets.
Meanwhile great-grandmother Aveline ‘Joyce’ – who won £680,000 – and husband Jim, a retired joiner, plan to move back into the city of Perth.
The lucky couple also want to treat themselves to a new Volvo.
Retired BP Services manager Joyce said, “I can’t believe this, it’s unreal but a very pleasant unreal.
“You’ve really taken my breath away. This is an unbelievable dream. It’s a dream come true.
“We’ve lived in this house for 15 years, but I’d really like to buy somewhere new.
“We’re both born and bred in Perth, and it’s been our dream for a long time to get ourselves back into the city and now we’ll be able to do that.”
Jim said, “It’s never too late to win. I’ve got the chance now to really enjoy life, however long I have left, before I pop my clogs.
“Now is our time to treat ourselves.”
Neighbour Kerry, who won £340,000, screamed with delight when she was handed her cheque – the day after her birthday.
She said she would treat her family – including bride-to-be daughter Lori – following a tough year as her husband Robert recovers from a stroke.
Kerry, a sales manager at University of St Andrews, said: “The last year has been really tough for us as a family, but I finally feel like it is changing.
“I’m excited for the future and can’t wait to celebrate with my family tonight.”
The family will set sail on a two-week Mediterranean cruise later this year.
In 2026, Robert will get to walk his only daughter down the aisle at her wedding in St Andrews.
Meanwhile Claire, a community champion, is planning to buy a motorhome and tour Scotland after picking up £340,000.
Another winner, train enthusiast John, has wanted to make his dream rail trip across America and Canada for years.
He now intends to do it in style with a first-class ticket.
John said: “This is something I’ve always wanted to do and now I will.
“Unfortunately, my wife’s health means she can’t come, but I have her blessing to go.”
Fellow winner Garry hinted that his family might move to a bigger house and upgrade a planned trip to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
While father-of-two Andrew said he has been pacing the floor for four nights until his windfall was finally revealed.
He and his wife Nickii broke down in tears after being presented the £340,000.
Andrew said: “I feel sick, but it feels good. Since we got the call on Tuesday to say we’d won something it has been stressful and a bit nerve-wracking. I haven’t slept since then.”