Celebrations in Breaston as three households share £200k prize

Three next-door neighbours in a quiet Erewash cul-de-sac are planning a ‘big, big street party’ after pocketing a share of a £1m People’s Postcode Lottery prize.

Paul Rowland, 63, George Mounsey, 81, and Alison Browne, 66 – who all live in semis next to each other – gasped with shock when they each revealed £200,000 cheques. 

They shared a £1m pot with Paul White, 78, who lives in a bungalow opposite, and another neighbour who wished to remain anonymous

Alison said they will all have a celebration in their neat street tucked away in the picturesque village of Breaston. 

She said: “It’s a fantastic feeling and I can’t stop smiling. But we’re going to have a big, big party on the street. It’s wonderful. We’ve known George and Paul for over 30 years and we get on really, really well. It’s a lovely street, lovely neighbours and a lovely place to live.” 

George said: “We couldn’t believe it when the three houses won together.  We didn’t know they were in it, until we went round and banged on the door and asked ‘are you in the Postcode Lottery? Have you had a phone call?” 

Paul Rowland added: “There’s a lovely community spirit and it’s lovely to have three winners in a row.” 

The five neighbours landed the whopping windfall in Breaston after DE72 3BZ bagged Postcode Lottery’s weekly Millionaire Street prize on Saturday 19th October. Every ticket was worth £200,000. 

Four of the winners whooped, laughed and hugged each other after being presented with their prizes together.

George said: “I’m in shock at the moment. I thought it would be £30,000. But this is unbelievable.”, and he laughed: “When does this go in the bank?” 

Paul Rowland said: “I was going to take my wife for a weekend away. Now it’ll be a fortnight away. What are the chances of this happening here?” 

Paul White said: “It’s a lot of money. I’m nervous and gobsmacked.”, and Alison added: “I don’t know what to think. This is life-changing, it really is.” 

Her husband Tim, 67, dashed home from work at the end of the cheque presentation and after spotting the prize, he said: “I can’t believe it. I’m just glad she didn’t phone to tell me the amount when I was driving! I didn’t even know she was doing the People’s Postcode Lottery to be honest.” 

Now the winners are all excited for the future. 

For Alison and music teacher hubby Tim that means resurrecting big travel plans to celebrate their 40th anniversary, which landed during lockdown. And it includes fulfilling a lifelong dream of going on the iconic Orient Express. 

Tim beamed: “It means everything. We always wanted to do the train trip across the Rockies in Canada and also the Orient Express. There’s lots of trips that we’ve never done and have never been able to do, and now we’ll be able to do them and that’s fantastic.” 

Alison, a freelance school music exam coordinator, said: “We’ve been married 43 years now, but our 40-year anniversary fell during lockdown so we weren’t able to celebrate properly. Now we can do that.” 

The mum-of-two revealed she’d hardly slept for a week since receiving a call to say she was a winner. 

She said: “I’ve lost half a stone this week. But it’s good! You have dreams that you have won lots of money, but then you wake up and think damn it’s a dream. This is how I felt every night this week when I managed to get to sleep at 3am. Then I woke up and thought ‘no, it’s not a dream!’” 

Alison explained exactly what the win means to them. She said: “It just shows you. You think it will never happen to me. But it has happened to us so it can happen to anyone. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would win this much.”

Musician Tim, who plays the clarinet and saxophone, said youngest son Matthew, 29, follows in his dad’s musical footsteps and plays the classical guitar. He said: “He is autistic and that really calmed him down when he was younger. That’s why we haven’t told him yet because he hates attention. He lives in a supported flat and the security this will bring him is great as well.” 

Asked if he was looking forward to being spoiled by his parents, older son James, 30, an engineer, laughed: “I’ll be happy with a pint in Spoons. It’s £6 a pint!” 

Tim said his dream gifts from Alison after the win would be another puppy to keep Pointer Finlay company - and a new Gore-Tex waterproof jacket. But Alison said: “If we get another dog we’ll need a house with a bigger garden. My son and daughter-in-law don’t want us to get another dog because they have to look after them if we go away. 

“We’re all going away to Wales on holiday together next week so we can celebrate there.”

Across the road, retired electrical contractor Paul White is already planning a Christmas holiday to Australia, and the classic car fanatic is also eyeing up his dream motor.

Paul said: “I always wanted to go away at Christmas. I think that might be on the cards now. I’ve got two cousins, one in Alice Springs and one in Melbourne. I always wanted to go to Australia. When I first got married, I got all the paperwork to emigrate. My wife at the time said she didn’t want to leave her parents, so we didn’t go.” 

The emotional great grandad, who also has a son, daughter and two grandchildren, added: “I will see my family right, too, obviously. I’m apprehensive. It still hasn’t sunk in really at the moment. I was expecting a couple of thousand, but that’s a lot of noughts. To look at this piece of cardboard and then you can’t imagine it as £200,000 in a pile on the floor.” 

Paul loves American 50s cars and has always hankered after a 1959 Cadillac. The dad-of-two, who currently owns a pimped-up Chrysler PT Cruiser, said: “I like American 50s cars. Plenty of chrome! I’d like a 1959 Cadillac. It depends on the condition, but if you want a good one you would pay £50,000."

He added: “I can’t get my current car in the garage at the moment because it’s not wide enough. I might have to move house!” 

Back across the street, Paul Rowland will be treating his family to a dream holiday in the Maldives - if his daughters get their way.  

He said girls Lizzy, 34, and Charlotte, 22, had already made their minds up on how some of the big win should be spent.

Paul said: “Both my daughters are nurses. Lizzy wants to go to the Maldives. They’ve already said to us ‘oh we can go to the Maldives - you can take all of us’. You know what kids are like.” 

Paul and wife Angie, who also have son Peter, 32, are now thinking about how to spend their winnings

Midwife Angie, 59, said: “We’ve got holidays coming up. We will have a bit of a splurge and then think about what we’re going to do. There will definitely be some treats for Christmas.”   

Paul, who works with the prison service national distribution centre, had to ask his boss for time off in the morning, so he could collect his cheque. He joked: “But I said I would try to come in for the afternoon! Now I’m definitely going back in because I want to take my cheque in!” 

He added: “When I started to pull my cheque out of the envelope, I saw the ‘2’ and thought ‘wow, I’ve won £20,000’. Then when I carried on pulling it out, I saw more and more zeroes. And I just couldn’t believe it.”

Through the wall, childhood sweethearts George Mounsey and his partner Margaret Blurton, 82, were left stunned by the windfall – but are now thinking of investing in a caravan in Yorkshire with their winnings.

George said: “We haven’t got a clue what we’re going to do. We’re not short of money, we’re very comfortable. Margaret would like a static caravan in Yorkshire somewhere. We’ll see, we may invest. We’ve travelled the world and seen a lot of places. We’ve got two Schnauzers and when you’ve got dogs, you’ve got to think about them all the time. World cruises are out.” 

George told how their teenage romance was rekindled half a century after dating when they met in a supermarket fruit and veg department. 

Grandad George said: “We’ve known each other since we were teenagers. When I was 15 and she was 16, we went out together for a year. We later got married to other people and were both widowed. Fifty years later we met up again in the Asda and we’ve not been apart since. That’s 16 years ago now."

Margaret said: “I was with my sister in Asda.” George laughed: “We clashed in the fruit and veg. The worst thing was, I said ‘hello Margaret’ and she said ‘who are you?’ Then she remembered.” Margaret added: “He then joined the walking group that I was in.” 

Tragically Margaret lost her son and daughter to cancer, but has four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She said: “The family will get better Christmas presents this year.”  George added: “We might even get a bigger turkey!”

But the couple have made recent purchases which they both regret now – a new Kia for George and a Citroen for Margaret.

George said: “I’ve just bought that car; I wish I’d bought something better now.”, and Margaret echoed: “We’ve both just bought a new car. I should have waited and had a better one.”

The neighbours all told how they signed up for Postcode Lottery to help support local, national and international charities.

Amongst them is Breaston Women’s Institute who have benefited from £10,000. The group provides women with the opportunity to make friends, learn and support their community. They are proud to campaign and fundraise for the benefit of good causes.

How it works
People’s Postcode Lottery costs £12 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 People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £1.4 billion for thousands of charities and local good causes.

Prizes include ‘Millionaire Street’ - £1 million every Saturday - £30K on Sundays and a multi-million-pound prize is won each month. This prize was promoted on behalf of Postcode Community Trust.