I took a £405,000 Lotto prize from my neighbors because they made a stupid blunder
A mum managed to scoop a huge postcode lottery prize of £405,000 after her neighbors all made the same silly blunder.
Rachel Lee, 33, won the whopping People's Postcode Lottery jackpot this week.
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The NHS worker scooped the six-figure sum for her and husband John, 37, when their postcode in Dukinfield, Manchester was declared the winner yesterday.
Rachel ended up being the only person in her zip code to win big.
But that's because none of her neighbors buy tickets for the weekly lottery.
The 33-year-old won the maximum ticket prize – her share of a £1 million jackpot.
The remaining money, totaling more than £594,000, was split between players in the postcode sector.
More than 1,280 players won cash prizes ranging from £419 to £1,257.
Rachel shared how much the win meant – after tragically losing her twin boys and having to fight for her life.
Yesterday's news comes six years after the deaths of her babies, and she wants to give back in their memory.
She said: “This just doesn't happen to us. We're used to answering the phone when there's bad news.”
Speaking through tears about her late sons Reggie and Ronnie, who died in 2018, Rachel said: “They sacrificed themselves for me. It's heartbreaking that it happened, but in a way I'm here to keep them alive.
“We were told that if I had not given birth, I would have had 24 hours to live and would also have died.”
Rachel, who works as a children's complex support worker in the NHS, said the win will allow her to pursue a job as a children's nurse.
She says: “I worked in a daycare center as an assistant manager for thirteen years and I had had enough.
“I wanted to give something back and do something with my career after everything I've been through.
“When I got the job in the NHS, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I want to become a pediatric nurse and take care of poor children.
“Now I can do a master's degree in nursing and make that happen.”
Rachel also plans to buy a Life for a Life tree for her beloved twins.
She added: “We want to have a tree for life planted in the Dove Stone Reservoir (a memorial woodland near Oldham).
“We've always wanted to do it, but it's expensive.”
How does the People's Postcode Lottery work?
ACCORDING to the official website, players sign up with their postcode and pay £12 per month.
They are automatically entered into every draw and the prizes are announced every day of the month.
Tickets play for prizes every day of the week. From Monday to Sunday, a ticket can win £1,000 in the daily prize every day.
Tickets can also be used to 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 will be notified by email, text message, post or phone call depending on the prize they win.
Jackpot winners are personally visited by the lottery team.