Shoreham road wins Millionaire Street prize on People's Postcode Lottery – and Sussex charities benefit

Neighbours in Crown Road reacted in shock when they learned their postcode, BN43 6GD, had won the Millionaire Street prize.

Charities including Shoreham-based Esteem and the Sussex MS Centre in Southwick were also surprised and delighted to learn it was a big 'win' for them, too.

Among the dozen winners was retired Brighton taxi driver Ken, 70, who bagged £133,332 and took delight in making a video call to his son Nigel at work in London to tell him he had won the same amount.

"It's real son! Really big potatoes!" he whooped.

Nigel, a self-employed lift engineer, exclaimed: "That's just changed my life - £133,000! I can't believe it. It might not be a million, but to me, that is like winning a million."

Every ticket was worth £66,666 but Nigel, Ken and another neighbour each doubled their win thanks to playing with two tickets.

People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson went to Crown Road on February 3 to reveal the news to winners in person.

Father-of-two Nigel said: "The Postcode Lottery phoned me and said they'd be visiting my street with a surprise but I couldn't miss out on the work. But when I saw the amount, I packed up my tools and drove home."

News of his win quickly spread around the building site and he now has a new nickname, 'Millionaire Man'. Nigel plans to use the money to put down a deposit on a house and to treating his children to a long-overdue holiday, having missed out due to Covid.

His parents, Ken and Jenny, won the People's Postcode Lottery within weeks of joining. Ken signed up on December 1 last year, the day Jenny retired as a housekeeping assistant at Southlands Hospital, having been convinced by Nigel to start playing.

Ken said: "I even signed up with two tickets because he plays with two."

The family have been in Shoreham for three years, having previously lived in Hove for more than 43 years. Meanwhile, another winner, Chris, actually moved out of Crown Road two years ago.

Chris, a car mechanic, now lives in Lancing and he signed up with his new postcode but made the decision to keep playing with his old postcode, meaning he landed £66,666.

Gwyneth, a mum-of-two working in financial services, also won £66,666 and plans to get a new kitchen. She and her husband Paul also plan to venture to France in their caravan and jet off to Cuba.

People's Postcode Lottery supports a range of charities and several have benefited from Crown Road's Millionaire Street win on February 3.

Hastings-based community music charity Soundcastle, the Sussex MS Centre in Southwick and ESTEEM, which supports young adults in Shoreham, were all awarded £50,000 by Postcode Community Trust, while As You Are Centre in Southwick will receive £30,000.

Emily-Jane Stuttard, manager at Sussex MS Centre, said: "It was a wonderful surprise to receive such huge support for our activities at this time. Being able to offer extra help to members, especially those who are more vulnerable or isolated, couldn’t be a better gift, not least when we’re about to celebrate the centre’s 40th anniversary.

"The money will be used for a variety of projects – from supporting free counselling for members to setting up a bursary scheme to help those on low incomes, who might not otherwise be able to access the centre. It really will transform lives!”

Rachael Perrin, co-director of Soundcastle, said: "A main aim of Soundcastle is to run targeted programmes which support people on their recovery journey to good mental health. The funding will be transformational for our community by enabling us to keep on doing what we do best."