'I never thought it would happen to us': Neighbours in shock as West Yorkshire street wins £240,000 on Postcode Lottery

Eight Castleford neighbours have been left stunned after learning they have won £240,000 with People’s Postcode Lottery.

The jackpot surprise comes after their postcode, WF10 4EB, was announced as a winner with the lottery on today. Each of the neighbours netted £30,000 after lottery ambassador Judie McCourt knocked on their doors.

Among the celebrating neighbours was Joanne Thourgood, 58, who said she was stunned by the win.

She said: “We’ve just won £30,000! I’m shocked, I can’t believe it, I never thought it would happen to us, but it has.

“I never thought I’d get that knock on the door.”

Joanne, who is a support worker for people with learning disabilities, was joined by her husband Andrew when she learned of the win. The couple said they plan to use some of the winnings for a dream holiday.

Joanne said: “We’ll have a nice holiday. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, we’ve got friends in Australia and now we can go.

“I think I want to go to Bondi Beach!”

Andrew added that they would treat their loved ones with the cash: “We’ll look after our friends and family, get some small treats.”

Joanne was pleased to hear that seven of her neighbours had also scooped a prize and said of the area: “We’re a close community, everyone looks after each other.”

When asked how she might celebrate, Joanne laughed and added: “A nice meal and a bottle of champagne!”

Lesley Grant-Mills, 46, gasped on seeing her £30,000 prize win and later said: “Never in a million years did I think I’d win anything. Not to me, no.

“It means a lot. I’ve never had this amount of money ever in my life. It’s a big shock but it will be spent very wisely.”

The mum-of-three said she already had some plans for her winnings: “Definitely a holiday. I’ll treat my three children, that’s the first and foremost.

“Somewhere in Greece, I’ve never been so that’s what I’m looking at. It looks beautiful.”

Lesley said she couldn’t wait to share the news with her family and said: “I think I need to ring my mum! I’ll be ringing her straight away. She’ll probably scream, she’ll come down with a bottle of wine.”

When asked if she had any other plans for the cash, Lesley added: “I don’t know what yet, I’ll need some time for this to all sink in. I could use a sofa to be honest, so that could be an option.

“My son will definitely be after some gig tickets!”

Lesley was also thrilled for the other winners and said: “I’m so, so pleased for everyone. It’s really good here. It’s a small town and everyone knows each other and it’s like a little family.”

After presenting the winners with their prize cheques, lottery ambassador Judie McCourt shared her congratulations to all the winning players. She said: “I couldn’t be happier for our Castleford winners today, I’m sure they’ll all be over the moon with this surprise.

“I hope they have fun with their winnings and get some special treats to celebrate the good news.”

People’s Postcode Lottery was created to raise funds for charities in Britain and beyond. Players of the lottery have now raised more than £900 million for thousands of good causes.

Joanne was thrilled to hear about the supported organisations and said: “It feels amazing knowing that you can help charities and that your money is going to good causes.”