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News

Couple who moved to London Road, Deal ‘on a whim’ bag £390k in People’s Postcode Lottery

By: Liane Castle lcastle@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 14:51, 30 October 2023

Updated: 18:05, 30 October 2023

A couple who moved house “on a whim” last year have won a life-changing sum of money in the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Judy Eastwood and partner Scott Wood won £392,000 after their postcode - CT14 9PR - in London Road, Deal was announced as the winner of a massive prize sum.

Ambassador Judie McCourt presented the cheque to Judy and Scott. Picture: People's Postcode Lottery

More than 1,400 neighbours in the town won a share of £11.2 million, the second biggest prize pot the lottery has ever given away.

Each winner won a minimum of £6,113, but those on London Road won the lion's share after their full postcode was announced as part of the lottery’s October Millions competition.

Last year, Judy and Scott decided to swap their quiet village surroundings, of Hartley near Sevenoaks, for the “livelier” town of Deal saying it is “the best decision they have ever made”.

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Celebrity ambassador Judie McCourt knocked on their door on Sunday and presented them with their golden envelope.

Gobsmacked Judy said: “I feel like I’m still dreaming. We’re just normal people, we work hard and didn’t expect anything like this to actually happen.”

Tina Allen, the owner of Deal Shellfish Stall, held two tickets so scooped £12,226. Picture: PPL

Their next door neighbours and good friends Richard Clements and Sue Lally also won the same amount while a mystery neighbour, with two winning tickets, doubled their win to £784,834.

With a leaky roof, a boiler on the blink and winter fast approaching, Judy and Scott hope to spend some of the money on home improvements.

“We’ve had a heating engineer out three times this week and he told us the boiler was on its last legs,” said Judy, an executive assistant for a finance company.

“Now we don’t have to save up for a new one.”

The change in fortune also means the couple can now jet-set on their dream holiday.

Judy’s mother June said she couldn’t be happier for her daughter. Picture: PPL

Judy said: “I'm an Elvis fan so I’d like to do a Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans trip and Scott’s always wanted to do Alaska.

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“And we’d been talking about taking his 19-year-old son Kody and his girlfriend Sophie to Florida next year too.”

Neighbours Richard and Sue were away visiting family in Hertfordshire when Judy discovered how much they’d both won so she video called them to reveal the amount instead.

“I’m gutted they’re not here, it would’ve been lovely to share it with them,” she says.

Hundreds of winners were invited to find out how much they had won during a huge event on Walmer Green on Saturday.

Over 1,400 winners collected prize cheques at Walmer Green on Saturday. Picture: PPL

One of the first winners to find out how much she’d won was Tina Allen, the owner of Deal Shellfish Stall.

The 67-year-old held two tickets so scooped £12,226 – money she’s planning to use to fly to Illinois in the US next year to see her son Stuart and toddler grandson Louis for the first time in over a year.

People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Matt Johnson said: “It was a phenomenal Saturday on the beautiful Kent coastline surprising hundreds of winners with thousands of pounds!

“Congratulations to all the Deal winners sharing £11.2 million, the second biggest prize in our history.”

The lottery costs £12 a month to play.

People's Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery which raises money for charities. For £12 a month, players can win cash prizes while supporting good causes. The monthly postcode millions prize sees players in a postcode sector share a multi-million-pound prize.

The Deal haul comes as residents on a street in Gillingham learnt that they too had scooped prized in the lottery.

Five lucky residents of Leet Close were shocked when Postcode Lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson named their postcode as Sunday’s winner. Each ticket was worth £30,000, with a total of £150,000 being won in the postcode area.

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