A GRANDAD who won £200,000 in the People’s Postcode Lottery has described how he immediately went next door – only to be met with bad news.
George Mounsey, who lives in Breaston, Derbyshire, heard the news of his enormous this week.
Paul Rowland, George Mounsey, and Alison Browne all took home a portion of the jackpot[/caption]
George Mounsey and Margaret Blurton met as teenagers[/caption]
His first instinct was to immediately pay next-door neighbours Paul Rowland, on one side, and Alison Browne, on the other, a visit.
It was there that he learned the disappointing news that his lottery winnings weren’t what they originally seemed.
Although the Postcode Lottery jackpot was worth £1 million, rules dictate that the sum is split between all players within that postcode.
So when George heard that Paul and Alison had also entered, as well as two other neighbours elsewhere on the street, he was forced to watch his life-changing £1 million prize plummeting to just £200,000.
George, who is married to his childhood sweetheart Margaret, said: “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?’”
Turning his thoughts to how he would spend the reduced winnings, he said: “Margaret would like a static caravan in Yorkshire somewhere. We’ll see, we may invest.”
As for this year’s Christmas, he added: “We might even get a bigger turkey!”
George and Margaret met as teenagers but rekindled their romance decades later.
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 Asda and we’ve not been apart since. That’s 16 years ago now.”
Margaret tragically lost both a son and a daughter to cancer but has four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Meanwhile, Paul and Alison were delighted to have unexpectedly bagged a slice of the winnings.
Paul said: “There’s a lovely community spirit and it’s lovely to have three winners in a row.
“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?”
Alison added: “I don’t know what to think. This is life-changing, it really is.”
How to play the People’s Postcode Lottery?
FOR just £12 a month, players can sign up through the official website to have a chance of winning millions of pounds.
Once signed up, players are automatically entered into every draw and prizes are announced every day of each month.
Tickets play for the Daily Prize, worth £1000 and revealed every single day.
Tickets could also win a jackpot of £30,000 for Saturday and Sunday’s Street Prize draws.
People’s Postcode Lottery also offers a £3million Postcode Millions draw each month – where your ticket plays for a share of the cash prize fund.
Winners are notified by email, text, post, or phone call, depending on the prize they win.
Jackpot winners are visited by the lottery team in person.
