A lucky lottery player has told how a simple mistake led to him winning a massive £500,000.
Mark Wilson, 62, won a six-figure sum on the People’s Postal Lottery this week – but is £365,000 richer than he was thought to be.
The Hertfordshire engineer and his wife Billie started buying tickets eight years ago but have since cancelled their subscription.
It wasn’t until December 2022 that Mark decided to give luck another chance and entered the draw again.
The 62-year-old had planned to buy just one ticket, but made a mistake when using the direct debit.
Mark ended up with four tickets and instead of canceling the other three, he kept them.
He is now grateful for the mistake that “changed his life.”
Mark said: “I made a mistake when we were doing the direct debit and pressed three instead of one, and I never bothered to change it because it goes to charity so that’s good.
“I then added another one (ticket) via PayPal because I thought the direct debit wasn’t working.
“I still don’t believe it’s real, I’ll wake up in a minute.
“This has changed our lives forever: I’m half a millionaire.”
The engineer and four of his neighbours from Borehamwood, according to their postcode (WD6 2SL), won the Millionaire Street draw, which awards £1 million.
The 62-year-old and his wife Billie are now planning what to do with their winnings and already have some ideas.
Mark is a vinyl lover and wants to expand his 4,000-record collection by building an extension on his house.
He said, “You have no idea how much space 4,000 records take up.
“Now we can do an extension and a loft conversion.
“From rock, pop, classical music, reggae, you name it, I have it, but I still have more in mind.
“I don’t know what the world would be like without music. I love sitting with a cup of tea and relaxing listening to music.”
Plans to extend the couple’s home have been a long time coming and Mark admitted his wife had been asking for a downstairs bathroom for years.
How does the Popular Postal Code Lottery work?
According to the official website, players register with their postcode and pay £12 per month.
They are automatically entered into each drawing and prizes are announced every day of the month.
Tickets are up for grabs every day of the week – from Monday to Sunday, a ticket could win £1,000 each day in the Daily Prize.
Tickets could also win a £30,000 jackpot in Saturday and Sunday’s Street Prize draws.
The People’s Postcode Lottery also offers a £3 million Postcode Millions draw every month, and your ticket plays for a share of a £3 million cash prize fund.
Winners are notified by email, SMS, postal mail or phone call depending on the prize they win.
Jackpot winners are personally visited by the lottery team.
The lucky man said, smiling at Billie, “You can use your bathroom downstairs now, dear.
“That’s all he cares about.”
This comes just days after a wife won a hefty £200,000 jackpot on the People’s Postcode Lottery after ignoring her husband’s pleas.
Sally pocketed the hefty sum after dismissing her husband Jonny’s request to cancel his subscription two months earlier.
He admitted that he was glad his wife had completely ignored him, because otherwise he would be crying now.
In March, Sally and Jonny shared the £1m prize with four other Cambridgeshire residents after their postcode PE15 9LU won the weekly Millionaire Street prize today. Each ticket was worth £200,000.
The traffic management operator said: “I told him to cancel it two months ago, but he never listens to me.
“Now I’m glad he ignored me. Today I would have been crying.”
Grandma cries over ‘mistake’ after winning £66,000
By Jane Matthews
A great-grandmother was out partying when she thought she had won £1,000 on the lottery – but was left emotional when she realised her mistake.
Shirley Hehir, 83, won £66,666 alongside her neighbours in Folkestone, Kent, in the People’s Postcode Lottery last week.
But when Grandma heard she had won, she thought she had only won £1,000… and she was happy.
Her mistake almost made her cry.
Shirley said, “Oh, God Almighty, I’ve never seen such a big check in my life. It’s wonderful.”
“It’s an incredible feeling. I think I’m going to cry. £1,000, I thought. And I did, I did.”
The great-grandmother, who goes to tea four times a week, is already planning how she will spend her earnings.
Shirley said she wants to buy a bigger car and treat her family.
The 83-year-old continued: “Maybe I can buy a new car. I’d like to buy something a little bigger. And I’ll give something to all my grandchildren.”
“I’m almost 84, I think I should treat myself. And maybe I’ll throw a party for my daughter. She’s turning 60 this year.”
Shirley suffered a double tragedy in 2003 when her soldier son Leslie died during the Iraq War, just months after losing her husband Jim to leukemia.
But she still finds the positive in situations.
The brave grandmother continued: “It’s hard to bear and it never goes away, but I also think about how lucky I am.
“My daughter, my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren keep me going.”
