Paignton neighbours scoop £1m lottery win with heartwarming plans

10 neighbours in Paignton have scooped a share of a £1 million Postcode Lottery prize, with plans for everything from dream holidays to tracing long-lost relatives.

The Paignton postcode TQ4 5LY landed the Postcode Lottery’s Millionaire Street prize on Saturday, October 24.

10 residents in the postcode won, with each ticket worth £90,909.

One couple on the street spectacularly bagged £181,818 after playing with two tickets.

It is the first of 8 postcodes to win £1 million this week, with a new Millionaire Street prize winner announced daily from October 24 to 31.

For winner Julie Hancocks, 70 and her husband, David, 77, the unexpected fortune could help them trace their family trees and find answers to questions they have wondered about for years.

Both Julie and David were adopted.

Julie was adopted from birth, while David was taken into foster care at the age of 2 before being adopted by the family who had looked after him.

The couple have long hoped to trace their biological relatives and have even taken DNA tests, but these have yet to provide the answers they are looking for.

Now, the couple hopes that their recent windfall could change this, offering a new opportunity to dig deeper.

Julie said: “Actually, I might spend some of this on genealogy.”

“We’ve never traced anybody… we could now.”

David is equally keen to uncover more about his early life.

He was born in 1949 and has always wondered about what happened to his birth parents and the circumstances surrounding his adoption.

David said: “There’s a black hole in your life that you know nothing about.”

He added: “There’s always a possibility that my actual mother never wanted to get rid of me.”

“But I just don’t know.”

The couple’s shared experiences of adoption drew them closer together and they reflected on the early moment in their relationship when they discovered this similarity.

David recalled: “She said to me one day, ‘I have to tell you, I’m adopted,’ and I looked her straight in the face, ‘So am I.’”

“She wouldn’t believe me for 10 minutes!”

The pair connected instantly and David asked Julie to marry him after just 3 weeks of dating.

Their longstanding partnership has helped them navigate some of the most difficult times, particularly David’s health challenges.

He suffered multiple heart attacks, a mini-strok, a transient ischaemic attack which affected his vision and prostate cancer.

David is now cancer-free and has regular annual checks to monitor his health.

Julie explained how their experiences with health challenges have taught them to appreciate the simple pleasures of everyday life and reinforced their dedication to supporting good causes.

She said: “This is why we do charity stuff such as the Postcode Lottery.”

“This man here has survived a stroke in his eye, a heart attack and cancer. And we both live every day with diabetes.”

She added: “You just have to make the best of every day, and this will certainly help us do it.”

Along with putting money towards tracing long-lost family members, the couple also hope to buy a smaller motorhome to replace their current campervan, making trips away easier and more relaxing.

Their current caravan is 23ft long and heavy to tow and Julie worries about the strain it may put on David.

David said: “She keeps worrying about me having another heart attack.”

“If we can run to a motorhome, a small motorhome, that will save us a lot of worry.”

The couple are also considering redecorating their home, which they have lived in for 49 years.

Julie was initially drawn to the Postcode Lottery because of its support for charitable causes, something she has always valued.

She had been playing for several years and In May won £1,000 when the street landed the Postcode Lottery’s Daily Prize.

The couple were delighted, but believed that would be the extent of their good fortune.

Julie said: “We were both really happy but thought that’s that.”

However, their excitement grew even further when they discovered they had won a much larger sum.

David said: “We’ve just been given this vast amount of money.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Julie added.

Away from their win, the couple continue to dedicate their time to helping others.

Julie volunteers with the Torbay Operatic and Dramatic Society, assisting with costumes and productions.

She has even taken to the stage herself, appearing in Calendar Girls.

Julie joked: “I was just the lady with the very big buns.”

David is equally committed to supporting his community.

He volunteers with the National Coastwatch Institution, helping to keep an eye on people around the Bay and promote water safety.

Chris Dennis, 70 and his wife Michelle, 72, were also left ‘gobsmacked’ when they also won £90,909.

The couple are planning to help their son Sam, 35, pay for his wedding to his fiancée Lauren, 33, next May.

Chris, a retired mortgage adviser, expressed their delight.

He said: “It’s a life changer, really.”

“We can do so much.”

Michelle, who worked in pharmacies and on the checkout at the Co-op, was unfortunately diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer 11 years ago.

She was initially given just 3 years to live, but she is now in remission.

Michelle is keen to give back to her son Sam who supported her through these difficult times.

This included arranging and paying for a stairlift to be installed in the couple’s home while she was in hospital.

She said: “I can’t do a lot for him physically, but if I can help in other ways, then absolutely, it’ll be the first thing we do.”

Chris added: “It’s amazing that we are now in a position where we can make a contribution towards their wedding costs, we’ll get them over to ours for dinner and they can come prepared with a list and we’ll pay them off one-by-one.”

Another lucky neighbour on the street, Myredith Dingrat, 49, also pocketed over £90k and has one particular plan in mind.

Her first priority is reuniting with her mother in the Phillipines, whom she has not seen since 2023 when her dad passed away.

Myredith said: “The first thing I’ll do is visit my mum.”

“It’s been really hard not seeing her.”

She also added: “My 27 and 24-year-old daughters are still in the Phillipines, but my dream is to have them living here with me.”

Along with her aspirations of being reunited with much-loved members of family, Myredith also hopes to travel the world, with the Great Wall of China on her bucket list.

Her next-door neighbour Jack Norman, 77, also got lucky, describing his £90,909 win as a ‘miracle’, after scooping £1,000 earlier this year.

He said: “Only three months ago, I thought, well, no way we’re going to ever win anything again.”

“I was so delighted with the £1,000... now this... it’s a miracle.”

Jack is a retired lorry driver and plans to donate some of his winnings to dementia charities, inspired by his wife Jane, 82, who lives with the condition.

He also hopes to help his son Mark renovate a house he recently bought nearby, while also considering treating himself to a cruise.

Jack reflected on this win and said: “I never dreamt of this much. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.”

Married couple Colin and Janine Cardin, both 69, miraculously bagged a combined £181,818, after having a ticket each.

The double windfall comes just months after the couple managed to scoop £1,000 each in the lottery’s Daily Prize in May.

The new huge win comes at the ideal time, with the couple set to celebrate their 70th birthdays and 20th wedding anniversary in 2027.

Colin served in the Royal Navy as a communicator for over 25 years, including during the Falklands conflict.

Speaking about his reaction to the huge win, Colin said: “I couldn't believe it. As simple as that.”

Janine, a retired council worker, added: “You don’t think it’s going to happen again, do you?”

The couple have exciting plans for how they are going to spend their newfound fortune.

Colin has his eyes set on a luxury car and the couple are also considering upgrading their flights to New York, where Janine’s sister lives.

They are particularly interested in flying United Airlines’ Polaris business class for their luxury trip.

Janine joked: “I’ll pay for the first-class seats on the way out, he can pay for the way back.”