Hull nurse wins £400k in People's Postcode Lottery

A GROUP of neighbours have collected their share of £2m.

Winners of the People's Postcode Lottery, a charity lottery held across Britain, collected their cheques at Hull City Hall on Saturday.

Among the winners was nurse Elaine Lamping, who picked up a whopping £400,000.

Elaine, 51, of Dock Street, city centre, says she will use the winnings to help pay for her eldest son's wedding and her younger son's postgraduate degree fees.

The community respiratory nurse said: "This is something you only dream of. It is a dream come true.

"We weren't told beforehand what we were getting, so before the event at Hull City Hall started, we were trying to guess how much we could have won.

"I can tell you, none of us came even close to guessing £400,000."

Elaine's 51-year-old husband Jon, who works as an office manager, was also at the event with the couple's two sons Josh, 27, Tom, 25, and Josh's wife-to-be Becky Wealsby.

Elaine said: "You play for the dream, the dream of winning such an amazing amount, but you never think that dream will come true.

"We're going to help our son and his fiancée with their wedding.

"There's not much left to organise, but I'm sure there are a few extra treats we can think of."

Andrew Lamb, 28, of Owbridge Court, won £141,180.

Playing with three tickets, the bus driver already plans to use his winnings to buy a house for himself, his partner, Sammy, and their three children. This kind of money just gives you peace of mind more than anything," said Andrew.

"We're renting a house in Hull, but it would be great to buy something on the outskirts for the family."

One winner, who won £94,120, also won the keys to a BMW 1 Series.

Fellow players in the Hull, HU1 area, also walked away from the event at Hull City Hall with cheques for £47,060, £94,120 and £141,180 each. The remaining £941,180 was shared by anonymous winners.

As well as picking up their winnings, they were treated to a special performance by X Factor winner Shayne Ward.

The star entertained with tracks That's My Goal, No U Hang Up and If That's OK With You.

This is the first time that the Postcode Millions has landed in Hull.

Players have helped raise more than £23.2m for good causes and charities across Great Britain, including Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Missing People, which has received £1.7 million to date from players.

The Missing People charity has been supported by the lottery.

The charity is close to Councillor Nadine Fudge's heart, as her son went missing more than 20 years ago.

She said: "Missing People is a charity that is very close to my heart, thanks to all they have done to search for my son Phillip."

"I am very grateful to the players of the People's Postcode Lottery for their ongoing support of this vital charity."

Visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk for more information on the game.