By Charlotte Webster-
A pregnant NHS worker is one of a dozen of Northamptonshire neighbours celebrating winning nearly £77,000 each on the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Heather McIlhiney-Grant,(pictured) who is expecting her second child in September, happily scooped £76,923 when her street in Brixworth won the lottery’s Millionaire Street prize.
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The mum says her “life-changing” win will help her to spend more time with her husband Will, 31, and their daughter Theia, 4.
The 29-year-old was contacted by the lottery six days before she found out how much they’d won. The People’s Postcode Lottery caller told her they would be visiting her street, and all would be revealed.
“I seen a flood of red jackets and cameras going past my window and everyone was texting me asking if they’d knocked on my door yet.
“It was making me all hot and sweaty and I was already feeling like an oven.”
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The mum said her win will help her to spend more time with her husband Will, 31, and their daughter Theia, 4.
She is intent on not spending the win recklessly.
She said: “I’ll buy a new pair of Crocs! I got a pair for when I’m out in the garden but now I wear them everywhere.
“I can wear them on a sunny holiday for my 30th birthday next year.”
Heather and eleven neighbours won a share of the £1,000,000 prize after their postcode was announced as a winner on Saturday (July 15).
Another lucky neighbour was Jon Byrne, 40. The delighted dad is now hearing wedding bells, with Jon and fiancée Prue Dillon, 40, planning to tie the knot sooner than expected thanks to his massive windfall.
Data analyst Jon said: “We’ve been engaged for five years, and we can accelerate plans for a wedding now.
“We’ve looked at venues and things but we’ve never really tied anything down because of money really but this changes things.”
Prue, who works as an underwriter, said: “We’ve been engaged for a long time, but to be fair we had our little boy, and all our money went to him. Now we can do something for us.”
The stunned parents are also planning to redecorate their three-year-old son Noah’s bedroom and throw a birthday party to remember.
Across the road from her, neighbour Emma Brennan, 41, also scooped more than £76,000 after only recently signing up to the lottery.
The stunned mum-of-two said: “Oh my God it’s a phenomenal amount of money! I’m so glad we signed up in time.”
Emma sayid her bumper win will go towards travelling across the world with her husband Matt, 43 and their two sons – George, 13, and Max, 12.
“We can start having adventures with the kids while they’re still young. We’ve always wanted to go to New York, and we’ve got family in Australia so that’s another option.
“Our future starts now.”
Emma, who works as practice nurse in the local surgery, is also arranging a trip without the kids to Boston and Niagara Falls to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Rugby fan Phillip Burton, 75, found out he had won he said: “That’s better than a kick in the teeth, isn’t it?”
Phillip says the cash will help secure his plans for retirement alongside his wife of 53 years, Carol, 74.
Other winners of the postcode lottery includes Retired quantity surveyor Phillip Burton, 75. and dad of two Jim Watson and Kim Pestell, 60. Mr Burton said: “The pension is adequate but anything out of the ordinary has to come out of savings. This just reinforces our future; it makes everything that bit easier.”
The pair have lived at the winning postcode for 40 years.
Northampton Saints supporter Phillip said the trip of a lifetime could now be on the cards now their luck’s come in: “We might go to the Rocky Mountains in Canada, it looks lovely on the television.”
Gillian Raygada, 69, was delighted to win alongside so many of her neighbours.
The retired maths teacher said: “We’re going to start celebrating tonight with the neighbours. We’re very close in this street so I think we could have a street party!”
Gillian said the win has come at a great time for her and her husband of 49 years, Geoff.
She said: “It’s our 70th birthdays this year so we can really celebrate. I think we’ll go a nice holiday. We’ve been to New Zealand, the Caribbean, Maldives, Canada, St. Lucia… we’ll have to look at a map and see where we haven’t been!”
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