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BIG BUCKS FOR LADIES Bridgend wins £2 million

There was shrieks of delight for four lucky Bridgend ladies today (Saturday 28 March) who scooped £200,000 each when their postcode, CF31 2PJ, was revealed as the full winning postcode in People’s Postcode Lottery’s Postcode Millions in Bridgend.

The winners all played with the full winning postcode meaning they walked away with a whopping £200,000 each. The event saw 279 residents in the winning postcode sector CF31 2 share a £2million prize pot, with prizes ranging from £1,137- £200,000.

There were tears of joy for Jayne Austin, 46, when her cheque was revealed. Jayne, who had originally won £3,412, said she was a little scared at the thought of tearing her first cheque up but was absolutely ecstatic with her new one worth £200,000.

Jayne exclaimed, “Oh my goodness I think I’m going to have to marry Mark now!” Jayne, who was there with her partner Mark, got him to phone her Mum as soon as she had won and thinks that more than her family will know about her win now. “Mark phoned my mum straight away so the whole of South will know that I’ve won now! I’ve two children, Angharad and Rhys-John, and three grandsons so I’m sure she’s phoned them all by now. I just can’t wait to see them all and celebrate tonight.”

Jayne luckily doesn’t have to worry about going into work on Monday as she’s already booked two weeks off work. This will give her plenty of time to start looking for their new dream house. “We’ll definitely be looking at buying a new house together and we’ve been engaged for a while now but haven’t been able to afford a wedding, now we’ll definitely be getting married and having a big party,” said Jayne.

Next up to collect her cheque was Angela Heaven, 34, who signed up to play People’s Postcode after one of her friends won in Port Talbot back in 2013. Angela couldn’t believe it when she scooped her very own cheque for £200,000. Angela attended the celebration with her boyfriend of two years Richard, a builder, who was just as stunned as Angela.

Angela, who has worked in car insurance for the past 13 years said: “This is so surreal; we both just can’t believe it. We thought the most we had won was £500 so we’d been looking to buy some new garden furniture; I think we’ll have to find something a little more exciting to spend the money on now.”

Born and bred in Bridgend, Angela has no intention of leaving this lucky area now: “We’ll definitely stay in Bridgend,” said Angela. “We’re going to find our very own ‘forever home’ and plan to start a family soon so this couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Ayla Bridgman, 27, a first-year student of English, was at the cheque presentation on her own as she had told her mum Sian that she should just go to the supermarket instead of coming along to the event.

“This is just amazing. I’m going to help my mum by paying off the mortgage and then I would love to go travelling to South America. This win makes all of this possible,” said Ayla.

Ayla continued, “I was so jealous when Nicola won the BMW but now I can buy my very own one.”

The final winner today was Alexis Frew, 50, a sales assistant at WHSmith was celebrating her big win today with her husband Tony, 59. Alexis said: “I was absolutely shaking on stage when I saw my cheque; I can’t wait to tell my two sons Alex, 27, and Tom, 23, that I’ve won.”

Alexis and Tony, who has been a taxi driver in Bridgend for 30 years, recently paid for both their sons to attend university so this has come at a perfect time for them. Tony, who has been to America six times, is keen to take his wife on her first ever trip to the USA and now they have the money to make this trip a reality.

There was a fifth lucky winner today but they have chosen to remain anonymous.

Sector winner Nicola Jones, 34, had already scooped £3,412 during the event in Bridgend before discovering she had also won a brand new BMW 1 Series. Nicola said of her win: “It’s amazing, I can’t believe it. My partner encouraged me to sign up and I’m so glad I did.”

This is the fifth time that the Postcode Millions has landed in Wales in two years meaning that £10 million in Postcode Million prizes has now been awarded to players in Wales. Just last month players from Swansea scooped the £2 million prize pot meaning that in first few months of 2015, over £4 million has been awarded to Welsh winners. The other lucky areas were Newport and the town of Port Talbot which scooped the Postcode Millions prize pot two years in a row.

People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Judie McCourt was the lucky lady handing out the cheques to the players from Bridgend. Judie said: “It was only last month that we were in Swansea giving away £2 million so it’s absolutely great to be back in Wales handing out even more cheques to players from Bridgend! It’s been a fantastic day here today and I’ve loved seeing all the reactions of the winners on stage. Congratulations to everyone!”

It’s not just players like the lucky community from Bridgend who win by playing People’s Postcode Lottery, as a charity lottery, over £63.6 million has been awarded to charities and good causes. The winners’ celebration saw a number of supported charities in attendance including National Museum Wales, Riding for the Disabled Association and National Trust.

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Full Winning Postcode: CF31 2PJ Event Location: The Vale Resort, Hensol Park, Hensol, Vale of , CF72 8JY Images: Attached to press release

For more information please contact Kathryn McAuley on 07944 268 616 or [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITORS

About People’s Postcode Lottery  People’s Postcode Lottery is a charity lottery. Players play with their postcodes to win cash prizes while raising money for charities and good causes across Great Britain and globally  People’s Postcode Lottery is an External Lottery Manager and manages multiple society lotteries promoted by different causes supporting a range of good causes. For details on which society lottery is running each week, visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk/society  Postcode Lottery Limited is regulated by the Gambling Commission under certificate nr 829-N-102511- 009 and 829-R-102513-008. Registered office: Titchfield House, 69/85 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4RR  People’s Postcode Lottery players support the following Trusts – Postcode African Trust, Postcode Animal Trust, Postcode Care Trust, Postcode Children Trust, Postcode Community Trust, Postcode Culture Trust, Postcode Dream Trust, Postcode Global Trust, Postcode Green Trust, Postcode Heroes Trust, Postcode Planet Trust, People’s Postcode Trust and Postcode Sport Trust. These Trusts are funded entirely by players and support a variety of good causes. For further information on each charity, visit: www.postcodelottery.co.uk/charities  50p from every £2 ticket goes to good causes and players have raised over £63.6 Million for good causes across the country  There are five draws a month with prizes every day and each ticket costs £2 – paid monthly in advance by direct debit. For further prize information, visit: www.postcodelottery.co.uk/prizes  Maximum amount a single ticket can win is 10% of the draw revenue to a maximum of £400,000  Players can sign up by Direct Debit, credit card or PayPal online at www.postcodelottery.co.uk, or by calling 0808 10-9-8-7-6-5.